Scarlet Wind
by Laser-Wrath
Summary: You've had to spend the last four years fending for your life in the wilderness of the continent of Anima. When you are finally overpowered by the Grimm in the Forever Fall Forest, the nearby commotion attracts Team RWBY to a last-minute save. As time passes and you train to be a Huntsman, you slowly start to become close with RWBY's leader, Ruby Rose. Your life has only now begun.
1. Prologue

**Welcome to my very first RWBY fanfic! Just a heads up- if you didn't read the summary, the main character in this story is YOU, so if you're not comfortable being the hero of the story, turn back now. For everyone else who stayed, I bid thee good luck on the rollercoaster of fiction! Also, this is Rated M for potential future content being a little in the... "descriptive" category. For better or for worse. Enjoy!**

 **(Y/N) - (insert your name here)**

* * *

The room is silent, despite the large cogs rotating high in the ceiling of the clock tower. The room itself, aside from the cogs, is more like an office than a maintenance room- the floor is made of grey tempered steel, with a large ring pattern adorning the center of the metal floor. The walls are comprised of steel up until they reach the cogs, where they turn into green tempered glass. On one side of the room, built into the walls, are three fancy elevators that provide passage to and fro the room, while on the other is an observation window that overlooks the entirety of Beacon Academy and the vast reaches of the city of Vale, the room illuminated by the bright daylight shining through despite the fact that the sun is not visible through the window at this time of day. A steel plate hangs over the area of the room in front of the elevators, supported by chiseled pillars that add an air of solemnity to the room. Just in front of the window sits a silver boomerang-shaped desk that faces the elevators as opposed to the window, and seated at the desk is a grey-haired man, his walking cane resting against the side of the desk. In his right hand sits a cup of coffee engraved with the symbol of Beacon Academy, and in his left hand his scroll, which is relaying a report of increased Grimm activity in the Forever Fall Forest, which began only twenty minutes ago.

The report was made by some citizens in the commercial district of Vale who could hear the commotion and howls of the Grimm and see the occasional tree fall over in the forest. The Grimm were apparently following a direct path headed straight for Beacon Academy as opposed to the commercial district, which the man found odd. Grimm are attracted to places of high populations filled with negativity and fear, so it doesn't make sense that they were headed straight for Beacon as opposed to the city of Vale, and even so, the kingdom is enjoying a time of peace, aside from the occasional reports of small-scale White Fang activity. The only other explanation that the man can think of is that they were following something.

 _Or someone,_ the man thought. Something else crosses his mind then- the Grimm have been following this person for the past twenty minutes. As Headmaster of Beacon Academy, the man knows the names of all of the Huntsmen and Huntresses in his kingdom, whether they're in-training, graduated, or teaching, but he currently doesn't have anyone assigned to the Forever Fall Forest. This tells him two things- one, the person being chased is not one of his Hunters or Huntresses, and two, they have enough skill battling Grimm to have lasted being chased for this long. However, the man knows that this person won't last much longer against the Grimm- they've been chasing him for twenty minutes after all. Grimm are attracted to distress and panic, and they're target must be panicking and distressed if more Grimm are being drawn to this person as opposed to less.

The man sits back in his chair, his mind made up. Huntsman or not, this person clearly needs help, and all of his staff are either teaching class or out on missions. He leans back on his chair, another solution already presenting itself in his mind: send out one of the teams currently in training. Technically, they're not supposed to go on their first mission until the Vytal Festival, but it's the only thing he can think of at the moment, and he already has a team in mind. He closes the report from his scroll and sends a call request to one of his contacts. Moments later, the scroll beeps three times, indicating that the request was answered. A woman's voice sounds through the scroll.

"Professor Ozpin. What can I help you with?" Ozpin leans forward in his chair, his previous concerns about the matter setting a sense of urgency in his mind. He set his cup of tea down as he spoke.

"Glynda. I need you to tell Ruby Rose to see me in my office as soon as possible. It's rather urgent."

"Yes sir, I'll find her immediately," she replies, her earlier quizzical tone immediately replaced by the same urgency that now plagues the Headmaster's mind.

He didn't have to wait long. After only two minutes, one of the elevators on the opposite side of the room slides open to reveal a young girl in a red and black outfit, her weapon compacted and clipped to the back of her waist, her combat boots tapping against the floor as she stepped out of the elevator and into the Headmaster's office.

"Hello Professor Ozpin!" she greets him. Her voice is childlike with an innocent tone to it, and her silver eyes sparkles as she spoke. "Professor Goodwitch said that you wanted to see me?" She's younger than all of the other students at the academy, but her combat skills were the same, if not better, than the rest of her class, signifying an experience slightly beyond her age. Ozpin smiles as she enters the room despite the matter currently troubling him, and he folds his hands.

"Ah, Ruby, come in. I do apologize for such short notice, but I need your team's help with something. Call it a mission, if you will."

"Oh! What's the mission?" she asks, trying to keep the excitement out of her voice, but failing. My first mission as team leader! I wonder what it'll be!? Ozpin chuckles and, unfolding his hands, takes a sip from his coffee.

"The Grimm are making a lot of racket in the Forever Fall Forest. Normally I'd ignore it, but this has persisted for much longer than usual. What's more is that they're right next to the commercial district of the city, but they went right past it, as opposed to attacking the people present there. I think they're chasing someone through the forest." He takes another sip of coffee. "If I'm right, and they've been chasing someone for this long, then this person must have exceptional experience in dealing with Grimm... but no one lasts forever against a constant wave of Grimm. I want you and your team to find this person, if he or she does exist, and bring them back to Beacon."

Ruby is just about ready to burst with excitement. In her mind, this mission sounds really important. This person must be super important if Professor Ozpin wants them rescued! "You can count on us, sir! We'll get 'em out in no time!" The instant she stopped speaking, the spot where she was standing was instantly replaced by a flurry of rose petals, with Ruby herself already standing inside the elevator as the doors close and she descends back down the clock tower.

Ozpin chuckles to himself and takes another sip of coffee. "Ahh, so full of energy and youth. Godspeed, miss Rose," he says to himself, adding the last part as he hears a very soft groaning sound from outside, and turns around to see yet another tree fall down in the Forever Fall Forest. Well, finding this person won't be too difficult, with the ruckus they're causing.

* * *

The surrounding trees begin to lightly shake for a few seconds. The birds in the nearby trees flee from their perches and nests and call out cries of alarm as they fly off into the clear afternoon sky, the shaking never ceasing, but never growing either. On the shaded forest floor, one of the nearby bushes rustles, and a small hooded figure emerges, panting from exhaustion. The figure swings his head from side to side, then leans his arm on a nearby tree for support, his scythe hanging lazily from the other arm. His hood falls over as he leans down to catch his breath, whilst a shaft of sunlight pierces through the shade of the forest, illuminating his upper body. He's small, being only slightly taller than five feet in height, wearing a black combat jacket, a grey shirt, and black combat pants. A metal plate with a diagonal hole through it sits on his back, attached to his jacket. His wavy brown hair is all messy from wearing the hood for the entirety of the morning and for some of the afternoon. The boy takes a few more quick breaths, then his body snaps around to look behind him, his silver eyes scanning for any more signs of trouble, his last spare scythe blade, which is clipped to his belt, swinging around as he turned.

The bush he just came out of begins to rustle again, and a low, threatening growl reaches his ears. In an instant, he's already in a combat stance, his scythe no longer hanging lazily, but held at his side with purpose and an intent to kill. The bush stops rustling, and the boy tenses up. A heartbeat later, a Beowolf shoots out of the bushes, its claws already extended and teeth bared with aimless rage, but the boy was no longer where he was a second ago. The Beowolf swings its head from side to side, trying to find its prey, before it feels a blade pierce through its head. Then it felt no more.

The boy slides off the back of the beowolf he was standing on before he goes to pull his scythe out of its head. Much to his dismay, however, the blade cracks and half of the end snaps off when he removes the scythe, the limp body of the Beowolf misting into a black smoke. The panic from being relentlessly chased by Grimm only grows worse as the boy watches the broken blade fall tragically to the forest floor. Cursing, the boy quickly kneels down and rotates the end of the scythe that the broken blade was attached to, and it falls with a thud to the forest floor. With practiced ease, he swiftly removes his only spare blade from the clip on his belt and rotates the metal stud with the attached blade around the end of the scythe. After a few rotations, a clicking noise is heard, the metal bit holding the blade locking firmly into place on the rest of the weapon.

The boy is too busy refitting his weapon to notice the other Ursa sneaking up on him. Anyone would assume that the Grimm would relentlessly charge him down, but this one makes no noise- no growls, no snapping branches, no heavy thudding of its paws. No noise is made at all as it raises a paw to deliver a crushing blow to the oblivious boy's head.

A loud roar makes the boy tense up and ready his scythe as he turned around. He sees the Ursa with its paw raised to strike. He sees the strength that flexed through the massive form of the monster.

He sees the red scythe sticking through the Ursa's head from behind, shortly removing itself from the now-dead Ursa's head. It falls over with a loud thud on the dirt, and the boy sees who had done the deed- a red-and-black-haired girl about the same size as him, with the same silver eyes, a massive high tech red scythe which was easily double the size of his own weapon, and a red skirt and hoodie. Her black combat boots land softly onto the dirt floor as she disembarks the fading body of the Ursa.

They both stand there for a few short moments, waiting to see what the other would say, momentarily forgetting the light shaking they can feel through the dirt. The boy breaks the silence and relaxes his grip on his scythe, lowering it to his side, his earlier distress fading like mist.

"Err- t-thank you," he stutters. The girl was about to respond, but stops as the shaking from earlier starts to grow in magnitude, the sound of nearby trees crashing reaching both of their ears. They both instantly turn around and ready their weapons, the shaking growing steadily stronger. No more than five seconds pass before a Death Stalker finally crashes into view. The boy's eyes widen and his state of panic instantly returns. He was about to yell for them to run when a few more figures emerged behind the Death Stalker- a yellow haired girl with gauntlets strapped to her hands, a white haired girl with a long pony tail and a rapier already poised to strike, and a black haired girl with a bow on her head and already throwing a pistol with a blade attached at the Death Stalker, a black rope connecting her and her weapon. The girl that saved the boy earlier was also leaping at the Death Stalker, her scythe changing around itself until it resembled that of a gun.

The boy can only stand there and watch as the team of fighters continuously lash out at the Death Stalker, attacks constantly connecting to the shell but dealing no damage. The boy's breath hitches as the black-haired girl is sent flying from a smack hard enough to snap a spine. Much to the boy's surprise, however, she only gets back up as launches herself back at the massive Grimm as if she had never been hit in the first place.

He shakes his head and readies his own scythe. He doesn't know how she tanked the hit, but that's not his concern right now. The only thought taking up the forefront of his mind is getting rid of his original pursuer. He drops into his combat stance, but doesn't move. He doesn't know how this team works together and how they coordinate. He decides to wait until an opportunity to strike its tail presents itself. The team currently fighting right now are staying out of range of its tail and pincers, launching their own attacks when they can. After a few seconds, the boy realizes that the Death Stalker's completely forgotten about him, the team engaging it on one side of the small area, the Death Stalker in the middle of what is now a clearing of fallen trees... it's back turned to the boy.

He wastes no time in dashing forward towards the back of the Grimm. The sound of his footsteps are being muffled by the sound of the yellow-haired girl's gauntlets shooting fireballs at the massive scorpion's face, forcing the Death Stalker to raise its claws to block the shots. The gauntlets then click, signaling a need to reload, and the fireballs stop coming. The Death Stalker immediately raises its tail in the brawler's direction, poising it for a strike. Though the boy doesn't know it, the poison contained in a single strike from its tail is enough to leech the entirety of someone's Aura and leave them weakened. The second strike will be the death blow.

The brawler notices the raised tail and tries to move, but a pincer swings around and pins her against a tree, the bark groaning and splintering, but not breaking. Her eyes glitter with fear and she tries to struggle free as the stinger on the tail of the Death Stalker catches the sun, giving it a deadly gleam. The red-haired girl launches herself at the Death Stalker, only to get knocked away by its free pincer, her body crashing through a tree, her aura taking a massive hit and her weapon flying out of her hands further behind her. She goes to grab her weapon, but the tree she smashed through lands on one of her legs, effectively pinning her to the floor and away from her scythe. She looks back with a look of horror in her eyes as the Death Stalker shifts its attention back to the prey now trapped between its claw and a dense tree.

"Yang! Look out!" She knows her warning will be in vain, but she calls it out anyway, desperately praying for a miracle to save her sister from the deadly threat that hangs above her. The other two teammates immediately try to aim for the weak point that connects the pincer to the main body, only to be met with the same treatment as their red teammate, only with a lot more force this time. Their bodies were sent flying into the trees and out of reach of the remaining two fighters. The pinned scythe wielder can only watch in fear as the stinger starts its descent.

She shuts her eyes, unable to bear the traumatizing sight about to unfold before her. She braces herself for the scream of pain, for the sickening sound of flesh being pierced by a sharp point. She flinches as she hears the sharp pierce of flesh. She flinches as she hears something hit the floor with a thud.

She looks up with hope as she hears the scream of pain not from her dear sister, but from the Grimm, its tail impacting a spot only inches away from where Yang is pinned. The boy from earlier is now on the Death Stalker's back, a black mist protruding from where the Grimm's deadly tail was only moments ago. Even before the entire tail has hit the ground, he's already poised his own scythe to strike the small bit of muscle connecting the Grimm's pincer to the body. He vaults off the back of the enourmous monster and strikes the weak spot as he lands in front of the Death Stalker, the pincer impacting the ground. Finally free, Yang erupts into an orange energy and fires merciless amounts of fireballs into the Grimm's face as more black mist spews out from where the Death Stalker limb was just hacked off.

More growling from the right draws the attention of Yang and the boy to three more approaching Beowolves. However, before they can advance on the remaining two fighters, the Death Stalker charges the both of them again. It slams its pincer on the ground where Yang and the boy were a heartbeat ago, and they land on opposite sides of the Death Stalker. The Beowolves give off blood curdling howls and charge at their closest prey- the boy. The first one was already leaping at him by the time Yang notices the threat, and she turns to try and help, only to get knocked away a few feet by a stray blow from the Death Stalker. The boy is on his own against the Beowolves.

The first Beowolf swipes at the boy's head, only for its paw to impale itself on the boy's scythe. Its howl of pain is quickly silenced as the boy withdraws his scythe from its paw and quickly decapitates the wolf's head, letting it fall limp as the remaining two enemies rushed him down, fangs bared. One Beowolf lunges for his legs, and the other lunges for his chest. The boy waits until the last possible second to act, jumping over the lower Beowolf and thrusting the bottom of his scythe at the oncoming head of the second Beowolf. The first loses its footing and falls awkwardly to one side, while the other collides head-first into the boy's weapon and bounces backward onto its back, the boy quickly slamming his scythe's blade into its upper chest and ripping all the way downward. By the time the final Beowolf regains its footing, the boy is already sprinting towards it, his scythe low at his side in a ready position, the other Beowolf's body fading into a black mist. The last remaining Beowolf roars a challenge and leaps at the boy already within a few feet of the beast, aiming its fangs at his head. Once again, the boy waits until the last second before dropping his body onto the ground and sliding below the Beowolf. As he starts to slide, he repositions his scythe so that the blade of the deadly weapon is on a direct course for the Beowolf's head. The wolf Grimm dropped to the forest floor in two pieces, the boy standing back up from his sliding position.

Just then, Yang lands beside him, the Death Stalker now about a dozen feet away, but closing the gap between itself and its prey, its final pincer raised to smash the ground where they stand. Both she and the boy jump several feet away as the Death Stalker swings its pincer at where they both were a heartbeat ago, barely missing them. They both land a few feet next to Yang's sister, still trapped under the heavy fallen tree trunk and unable to move. Tension besets all three of them as the Death Stalker turns and begins thundering back towards them, its red eyes ablaze with uncontained rage. Relief floods all three of them as they see the other two teammates break through the nearby undergrowth to rejoin the battle. They start attacking the Death Stalker in rapid succession, allowing Yang and the boy to turn their attention towards their pinned comrade.

"Are you okay, Ruby?" Yang asks, glancing uncomfortably at the spot where the fallen tree was pinning Ruby by her leg, the young fighter struggling in vain to lift the trunk off of herself.

"Yes, just get this thing off of me!" she cries, desperate to get her weapon back and continue fighting. Yang and their mystery fighter immediately lean down to try and free Ruby from the fallen tree, but it proves too heavy to be moved. Yang turns back to their teammates fighting the giant Grimm.

"Weiss! Blake! Keep it away from us while we free Ruby!" she yells as they continue to struggle against the fallen tree. Weiss and Blake continue to fend off attacks from the giant Grimm, but they eventually start to lose ground to the Grimm. The boy stops lifting the trunk and faces Yang.

"I have an idea- blast off the parts of the tree that aren't pinning her down. That way, we don't have to move the whole tree." Yang's eyes light up at the idea, and she nods in approval.

"Good idea!" she exclaims as she preps the rounds in her gauntlets and aims them at the tree. Ruby's eyes widen in fear and she puts her hands up to protest despite being pinned.

"A-are we sure there isn't another way to get this tree off of me? I like my legs!" The boy leaves Yang to try and free her panicking sister on her own. He picks his scythe off the ground where he dropped it and runs over to help Weiss and Blake against the Death Stalker, which is trying to keep its exposed side away from the two fighters, no longer gaining ground. Before he can make it over, Blake throws her weapon like a grapple around the Death Stalker's last pincer and holds on, keeping it pinned to one side momentarily whilst Weiss speeds around the struggling scorpion to its exposed side. The boy stops in his tracks, hoping that Weiss's next attack would finish off the Death Stalker. She stops on the Grimm's exposed opening and drops her stance, her rapier primed at the Death Stalker's head. The Grimm finally manages to yank its pincer away from Blake's weapon and tries to turn its exposed side once again away from Weiss.

It was one second too late. Weiss glides over the ground like it was ice and pierces through the Grimm's head at lightning speed. The scorpion's cry of pain was quickly cut off as Weiss stops dead in her tracks on the creature's opposite side, the creature's body growing limp and collapsing. The mist that begins to envelope the Death Stalker tells everyone there that the massive Grimm is finally dead. Weiss and Blake stand there triumphantly as the last specks of the creature's body evaporate into the forest shade.

A few seconds later, two shotgun noises sound from behind Weiss, Blake, and the boy. They all turn around to see that Yang had blasted off the two ends of the tree and was lifting the remaining middle section off of Ruby with ease, the latter immediately sitting up and holding her freed leg tenderly as everyone else gathers around her. After a few seconds, she lifts herself off of the ground and turns around to the boy.

"Are you okay?" Everyone turns their attention to the boy in question, and he scratches the back of his head, his wavy brown hair still messy from both the fight and from wearing the hood earlier.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," he stutters out, slinging his scythe upside-down into the metal plate on his back, sliding it into place with a clicking sound. Ruby takes a few steps toward her weapon and, picking up off the ground, compacts it back into its passive rectangular form. Weiss slides her sword back into place on the side of her waist, Blake sheathes her weapon and allows it to attach to the magnetic plate on her back, and Yang disarms the rounds in her gauntlets and compacts the twin weapons into large metal wristbands.

The boy doesn't know how to respond to the situation he was in- he was used to fending for himself without any help, but despite his previous time in the wilderness, that was the first time he'd ever seen a Death Stalker. Another question enters his mind, and he looks back at the team that rescued him from the giant Grimm.

"How did you know I was here?" he asks, genuine curiosity conflicting with confusion in his mind. Usually, people tend to stay away from the Grimm, especially big ones, and the boy thought he was still a ways away from the kingdom of Vale, so he figured he wouldn't see other people for a while yet. Everyone else looks at Ruby, knowing that it was her who was briefed by Professor Ozpin. She tilts her head as she thinks about her response for a split-second.

"Well, we were asked by our school's Headmaster to see if the Grimm were chasing someone instead of attacking the commercial district, and we followed a trail of Grimm all the way here, and then we found you. He also asked us to get you back to Beacon safely in case anyone was being chased." Before the boy could respond, Weiss steps towards him, fixing him with a stern stare.

"But that's besides the point- why were you outside the walls of the kingdom? Citizens aren't supposed to be outside the kingdom unless accompanied by a Huntsman or Huntress," she scolds. The boy was about to defend himself, but the implications of her words strike him.

 _The walls of the kingdom? I'm that close?!_ He mentally facepalms, then looks around the group with a now-cautious look and repeats the question in his mind out loud.

"Wait... the walls of the kingdom..." He looks back at Weiss. "How close are we to the kingdom right now?" Everyone looks at each other like he had just asked a stupid question. Blake was the first to answer his question.

"We're about a kilometer away from the kingdom walls, just outside of the commercial district." She narrows her eyes at the boy, her question already clear in her gaze. "You're not from Vale, are you?" The boy shakes his head slowly, his silver eyes emanating confusion.

"No... I'm from the other side of the mountains. I didn't think I'd reach Vale for another month," he explains innocently. Just then, something in Ruby's pocket starts beeping, and Ruby quickly pulls out her scroll. The beeping was from Professor Ozpin calling her scroll, and she answers the call, holding the scroll up to her ear.

"I no longer hear any commotion. I take it you solved the problem?" the man asks, his voice sounding relieved. Ruby nods her head, even though Ozpin can't see that.

"Yes sir. They were chasing a boy through the forest." She heard the Headmaster hum in thought, his earlier suspicions confirmed.

"I see. Well done, Team RWBY. I'm sending a Bullhead now to your location to pick you and the boy up."

"Thank you, sir!" Ruby chirps before ending the call and putting the scroll back in her pocket. As she does, Yang turns around to the boy.

"By the way, what's your name?" she asks, tilting her head to one side as she waits for his response.

"It's-" He's cut off by a sudden thundering behind him accompanied by a roar.

"Look out!" Ruby calls out a warning as an Ursa thunders into view behind the boy. The boy's adrenaline instantly kicks back in, and his scythe slides out of the metal plate into his hand. The Ursa raises its paw to slam the boy, and he readies his scythe to block it. Or so he thought.

The paw that the boy was tracking didn't slam down on him. Instead, the Ursa's other paw swipes sideways at him, and the boy realizes this at the last possible instant. He brings his scythe around to try and block the paw. Much to his dismay, however, the paw went right through his scythe's rod, completely snapping the rod of the scythe in half and staggering the boy backward, his hands both gripping a half of the destroyed weapon. Lightning fast, the Ursa dropped back onto all fours and swiped its other paw at the boy before he could regain his balance.

Blake's weapon buries itself into the Ursa's head only moments after the paw makes contact with the boy, catching him on the side, ripping a scream of pain from the boy and sending him soaring to the ground unconscious, the remains of his weapon flying from his hands. Team RWBY rushes to his side, Blake's weapon returning to its owner with a quick flick of her wrist, leaving the Ursa's body vanishing in the same fashion as the Death Stalker from earlier. At the same time, the roar of an engine alerts the team to a Bullhead now hovering over their heads, the side doors already opening. Yang bends over and picks up the boy's body and climbs into the Bullhead with the rest of the team. Luckily for them, a medic is also onboard the Bullhead in the event that anyone's Aura was depleted and they were injured. The medic sees the injured boy and immediately pulls a metal slider out of the walls of the transport bay, revealing a built-in stretcher. Yang carefully sets the boy down on the stretcher, blood seeping into his clothes from where the Ursa caught him in the side. Ruby quickly tells the medic what happened.

"An Ursa caught him in the side with its paw. He needs help!" she says quickly, concern for the boy's condition filling her mind along with her teammates. The medic nods and responds while pulling another metal sheet from the wall containing first aid.

"We'll get him to Beacon's infirmary," he states as he pulls off the boy's jacket and shirt, then takes a wipe and cleans the blood off of the wound. He then pulls out a disinfectant spray from the supplies and applies it to the wound, before putting it back and grabbing some gauze roll, wrapping it several times around the wound lightning fast. Blood is already staining the roll red. He knows it wouldn't fix the wound entirely, but it will help him last until they got to Beacon's infirmary. He knows that this kind of thing requires professional treatment, and Beacon's infirmary is about as well-equipped as the kingdom's state-of-the-art hospital. The rest of the team stands there nervously, watching the medic work on the boy's wound as the Bullhead speeds off towards the academy.

* * *

Ozpin places his scroll on his desk after the call with Ruby ends and leans back in his chair, sipping his coffee. He's pleased that Team RWBY was able to find and rescue whoever was reported being chased through the Forever Fall Forest, but he didn't expect it to be a boy- he assumed that it was a grown adult fending off the Grimm assault. Even though this part came as a surprise to him, he had already decided to talk to this person and find out more about him, and possibly invite him to Beacon Academy despite the first semester having started two weeks ago. About three minutes later, out of the corner of his eye, he notices the Bullhead sent to pick up Team RWBY pulling out of the treetops and heading back to Beacon. A few seconds later, a call request appears on his scroll from the Bullhead's pilot, and Ozpin raises an eyebrow. They only ever call in if something's gone wrong, but Ruby says that her team completed their mission and found who was being chased.

 _What went wrong?_

Ozpin sets his coffee mug back on the desk and reaches for his scroll, apprehension besetting the elder's features. He answers the call and holds the phone up to his ear.

"Yes?" he says warily. A gruff voice responds back through the scroll.

"Sir, we've picked up Team RWBY, but the target is badly wounded. We're speeding back to Beacon as fast as we can."

"The boy's been injured?!" This catches Ozpin by surprise. Ruby didn't tell him that the boy was wounded. "How did this happen?"

"I don't know, sir." Ozpin taps his finger on his desk a few times, frustration starting to creep into his mind.

"I see. Thank you for reporting in," he states, closing the connection afterward and immediately sending a call request to Team RWBY's leader. It's answered almost immediately by a distressed Ruby.

"I'm so sorry, Professor! We were waiting to get picked up but then an Ursa showed up and hit him on the side and I know I should've been keeping a better eye out-" Ozpin interrupts her before she can continue rambling on with her apology.

"Calm down, Ruby," he calmly states. It's clear that Ruby is blaming herself for what happened to the boy, and Ozpin continues speaking into his scroll, trying to calm her down. "These kinds of things happen every now and then, and you must not blame yourself for every mistake, whether big or small. As for the boy, I'm sure he'll be alright. You did your best, and that's all anyone will ever ask of you." His reassurance is met with a few seconds of silence before Ruby finally responds.

"Thank you, Professor," she says, sounding a lot calmer than she did ten seconds ago. Ozpin inwardly sighs as he gathers his thoughts. He does care for each and every one of his students, and he usually doesn't like to see them, or hear them, distraught over something they did wrong.

"Remember Ruby, being a Huntress isn't always going to go the way you want it to. Mistakes are going to happen, and you need to learn to accept that," he lectures, his apprehension finally fading from his mind as he observes the Bullhead growing ever closer to the academy. Ruby's voice cuts back in through the scroll, the distraught tone in her voice now replaced with a more solemn one.

"Yes sir." Ozpin allows a smile to cross his face as he turns away from the observation window and sits back down at his desk.

"Regardless, you did a good job rescuing the boy, and that Death Stalker seemed to be a lot larger than any Grimm you've probably seen. Once you've landed, come see me in my office, and then you and the rest of your team can take the day off."

"Yes sir," she chirps, a sense of conviction replacing the earlier sense of failure. Ozpin lowers the scroll from his ear and disconnects the call, placing it back where it was lying on the desk and allows himself to lean back into the chair, beginning to rehearse the questions that he wants to ask the boy in his mind. He plans to visit him in the infirmary once he's completely recovered. He figures he won't have to wait long, with both the infirmary nurses and his aura working to heal his body.

After a good ten minutes of thinking of questions that he wanted to ask him, an elevator on the other side of his office beeps, alerting him to a visitor. He already has a good idea of who it is, and looks up from his desk to see Ruby standing on the other side of the room, stepping out of the elevator with a sense of purpose in her step. He smiles and motions for her to approach. She waves a greeting and walks across the room to stand in front of him, curiosity sparkling in her bright, silver eyes.

"Ruby, I want to ask you about the boy you rescued- what was he like, how does he fight, what weapon does he use- you know the sorts," he states, folding his hands on his desk in a manner of professionalism. Ruby looks up in thought at the cogs spinning above the room, thinking about how to word her descriptions of the boy. After a couple seconds, she looked back at Ozpin, though not making eye contact at him, opting instead to look at the flat of his desk.

"Well, he was dressed in black, and he was about the same height as me. Oh, and he uses a scythe just like I do, but it got destroyed by that Ursa... but he was really good with it!" While she continues to list off what she observed, Ozpin moves his scroll to the corner of his desk, which brought up a holographic console that he was now using to note down everything that Ruby describes about the boy. "When three Beowolves approached him, he cut them down like he'd done it a million times! Oh, and when the Death Stalker had Yang pinned to a tree, he jumped on its back and cut off its tail and one of its pincers! He also-" Ozpin continues to jot down what he could piece together from Ruby's story, listing them off in his own head as they're written down on the note he's making.

'Young boy, same height as Ruby, possibly same age, uses a scythe, experienced in fighting Grimm...' He couldn't really list anything else as Ruby keeps on rambling about how he fought, and Ozpin wants to know the rest of the boy's profile. He raises his hand to stop Ruby from getting too invested in her recap, and she stops and looks at him with the same curiosity from earler lighting her eyes.

"Did you note any facial features? Did you get his name, or where he's from? Did you see him use his semblance?" Ozpin is curious as to what the boy looked like and where he's from, and Ruby rests her chin on her hand in a cliche thinking pose, swaying her hips back and forth in a cute way.

"Well, he has wavy brown hair, all of his clothes are black except for his shirt, err..." Ruby pauses for a few seconds, trying to think of other things to describe. "I don't think he used his semblance... um... we didn't get his name, but he did tell us he crossed over the mountains to get to Vale... oh!" Ruby remembered what the boy said about getting to Vale, considering that she had found it odd when he first told them. "He told us that he didn't expect to reach Vale for another month, which is a little wierd considering how close he was to the edge of the kingdom." Ozpin stops making notes when she says this, and he looks up at her perplexed.

"You're right, that is a bit odd. The trails that go through the mountains are relatively high, so it would be almost impossible not to see Vale when you go through the mountains. So why didn't he know that he was so close to Vale?" Ozpin asks this question more to himself than to Ruby, his brow furrowing in concentration as he tries to think of how the boy didn't know where Vale was. In the end, he can only think of two possibilities: either he crossed the mountains while visibility was poor, or he lied about crossing them in the first place. However, not even those two possibilities make any sense to the Headmaster.

 _If he did cross the mountains, why do it when visibility is poor? If he lied about crossing them in the first place, why would that benefit him? What would he have to gain from lying about where he came from?_ On the console, Ozpin puts down 'origins unclear', then looks back up at Ruby, all of his previous questions answered.

"Thank you, Ruby. I think that's all the questions I have for now. You may return to your dorm, and please, enjoy the rest of the day off," he dismisses her, leaning back in his chair and saving the boy's profile onto his scroll. Ruby's bows her head slightly and, spinning around on her heels, returns to the elevator that she came up in. She presses a button on the elevator's console, and the doors slide shut, leaving Ozpin alone in his office to contemplate what he's learned.

* * *

The boy's eyes slowly blink open, only for him to squeeze them shut as a bright light flashes into his vision, raising his hand to block off the intense glare. After a few seconds, he blinks his eyes open again, his hand still blocking off the overhanging light, and takes a few moments to observe what he could see: he was lying in a bed in only his jeans- his shirt and jacket was resting on the table near his bed, with his shoes resting on the ground near the chair adjoining the table. He could see a screen off to his right displaying his vitals despite the fact that no wires or equipment were connected to him, making a soft humming sound as its information updates to match the boy's conscious state. The door that leads in and out of the room was on the far end of the wall on the bed's right, with a clock hanging next to the doorframe reading 11:11 as the time. The room was painted in a sterile white color that's stereotypically found in any decent hospital in Remnant, which only adds to the bright flare that the fluorescent lights of the room are giving off. Sunlight was shining through a window just to the left of the bed, making the fluorescent lights seem a little redundant.

The boy's eyes adjust to the brightness of the room after a minute, but he still reaches his hand up to the overhead light to find the off switch. His silver eyes lock onto the small slider sitting in the ON position, and he flicks his finger upward, pushing the slider into the OFF position and shutting off the annoying overhead. He sits there for a few more seconds and stretches, trying to recap what had happened to him. Immediately, his side flares in pain, making the boy flinch back into a slouched sitting position and hold his injured side gingerly, and he looks at his wound for the first time. His side is wrapped tightly in a few layers of blood-stained gauze roll. The boy gives the spot with the most blood a small poke, and he instantly feels it sting in irritation. After a few seconds of staring at the injury wondering how it happened, he remembers what happened- he had just been rescued by a team of young girls from a Death Stalker, they had a conversation he couldn't remember, one of them screamed a warning, he turned around and saw an Ursa raise its paw-

 _My scythe!_ The boy cringes as he recalls the Ursa's other paw swiping at him and snapping his weapon in two, then a lot of pain, and then nothing. _Those girls must have taken me to a hospital... what were their names again?_ The boy crosses his arms and leans back against the bed's pillow, trying to recall their names. _Err... there was... one sounded like bang, but I know that's not right... Their names start to click in his memory one-by-one. Oh right, it was Yang, not bang... the black-haired girl was Blake... the white-haired girl was Weiss, and... the red-haired was... umm... oh, Ruby._ Before he could recap anything else, he hears voices on the other side of the door clear as day, despite the fact that the door was closed.

"He's in here. His vitals show that he's awake now, though I'm not sure he'd be willing to answer any questions, given his current condition." A woman's voice sounds into the room from the other side of the door.

 _Probably the nurse._ Another voice answers her, this time belonging to a man.

"I see. If I may, I'd like to ask him some questions alone."

"Of course, Professor."

 _Professor?_ The boy's eyes squint in confusion. _What's a professor doing in a hospital?_

The door to the room opens, and a grey-haired man with glasses, a coffee mug, a walking cane, and a small black box pinned to his side by his arm walks into the room, though the boy can tell he's not putting his weight on the cane. Then why the cane?

"It's special to me," the man says, as if he could perfectly read the boy's mind. The boy doesn't react, only continuing to stare as the man sets his cane against one of the table legs and sets the box down on the table, then gently pulls the chair from the table, turns it so that its facing the bed, and sits down. The boy subconsciously sits up straighter, his posture still casual but no longer slouched. The man looks at the boy, then blinks in surprise at what he notices, and the boy raises an eyebrow in question, his questioning gaze never leaving the old man's face.

"What?" he quips. The man takes a sip from coffee and sets it down on the table, then looks back at the boy.

"From what I've heard, I thought you'd be a little bit... older," the man says, making a mental note in the back of his head. His age wasn't what he found most interesting, but he had other things more important to discuss. The boy's body tenses up and he turns his head slightly away from the man in restrained suspicion, not breaking eye contact.

"Why do you say that?" The man chuckles slightly and takes another quick sip from his coffee.

"It's not every day that I hear of someone being chased by the Grimm for a lengthy amount of time that isn't one of my Huntsmen or Huntresses. The commotion you were making lasted quite a while, so I was led to believe that this person was experienced in dealing with Grimm, so forgive me if I find your appearance a little misleading." In the boy's mind, the man was speaking as if he knew who he was, and the boy didn't quite like that. He turned his head so that he's directly facing his mystery visitor, suspicion still sharpening his gaze.

"Sorry, but I don't think we've met." The man nods in acknowledgement and sets his coffee back down.

"Ah, of course. Where are my manners?" he states jokingly. "My name is Professor Ozpin."

The boy had heard of that name before. Before he crossed the mountains from Tyrock, people occasionally talked about him. From what he knew, Professor Ozpin was the Headmaster at Beacon Academy, the best combat school in Vale. The boy's eyes widen slightly in a newfound respect for Ozpin, but still remains in his casual posture.

Professor Ozpin leans forward slightly and gestures to the boy. "And you are?"

The boy relaxes, his body no longer tense. He feels like he can trust this man, and he hasn't met a lot of people who've given him a reason for him to trust them.

"(Y/N) Reaper."

* * *

Ozpin gives a small chuckle as you tell him your name. "(Y/N) Reaper. Really rolls off the tongue, and it suits you well, considering that you use a scythe as your weapon." You can't help but also chuckle in response. The same thought has crossed your mind numerous times over the years. Then, you remember that your scythe breaking was the last thing you saw before you got pimp-slapped by the Ursa from earler. You are about to say something about it, but Ozpin is the first to speak.

"Something else I was also told was that you didn't know how close you were to the kingdom despite being literally right next to it," he blandly states, his curious gaze now replaced by a more pensive one. Your mind instantly clouds in confusion. "If you really did cross over from the mountains, you should've been able to see the kingdom when you were passing through, considering that the trails through the mountain range are quite a ways up."

Your mind immediately clears in understanding, and you mentally facepalm. I should've known that! Nevertheless, you shrug before responding to his query. "Actually, when I was in the village of Tyrock, Nevermores had been seen attacking travelers and hikers trying to pass through the trails, so the village chieftain told me about a trail that wound through the valleys in the mountains. Usually, that trail's more dangerous that the higher trails, but with the Nevermores circling the upper parts of the mountains, it was actually safer to take the valley trail, even though it took me a month. However, because the trail goes through quite literally the bottom of the valleys, I couldn't see the kingdom at all while going through the trail."

Ozpin occasionally nods in understanding as you speak, the situation making more sense in his head, even though you know that it's not the whole truth. The Nevermores weren't the reason you avoided the mountain trails and instead opted for the valley trail. You mentally push the thought to the back of your head as Ozpin continues.

"That makes sense," he concedes as he picks up his coffee mug again, takes a quick sip, and then rests his arm on the arm of the chair he's sitting in. "Then if you are from across the mountains, why have you come to Vale?"

It was an honest question, but it immediately made you uncomfortable. The reason behind your traveling is a bit of a personal one for you, and you generally try to avoid that kind of question in the first place. You could've chosen to settle down in a village instead of risking your life every day traveling around, but you were seeking out Vale- Beacon Academy specifically- because of an incident that occurred in the village of Norris, and that day was about as far from a happy day as you could get. Then again, the incident at Norris was the reason why you settled on going to Beacon in the first place.

"Well, I... er... want to learn how to be a Huntsman," you answer, hoping that Ozpin doesn't ask why. He grunts in response and gestures to you again with his free hand.

"A Huntsman, you say? And how did you plan on accomplishing this?" he asks in a nonchalant manner. When you were young, your father used to tell you stories of the combat school he attended in Atlas to try and become a Huntsman. Even though he flunked out three times, he still gave you a pretty general idea of what you're supposed to do to become a Huntsman.

"Well, I figured I'd attend a combat school, and then once I was strong enough, enroll here at Beacon and become a Huntsman," you say, confident of your response. You've survived the wilderness of Remnant for three years on your own. Most people would have perished by now, especially at your age.

 _How hard can it be?_

Ozpin grunts once in response and sets his coffee mug back down on the table. "And do you know how long that would take?" he asks as he folds his hands on his lap. You shrug before you answer him.

"Well, I'd probably spend two years at one of the local combat schools, then from I understand, it's another four or five years at Beacon, and then boom-" You clap your hands together once in confident enthusiasm. "-Huntsman."

Ozpin can't help but crack a small smile at your enthusiasm and confidence, but it only lasts a moment as his face adopts a more shrewd expression. "What if I offered a way for you to become a Huntsman in less than six or seven years? Call it a shortcut, if you will." Your interest peaked, you lean forward, eager for him to explain more, and Ozpin scoots his chair forward closer to your bed and sits up a little straighter than before continuing. "One of the main reasons people attend a combat school in Vale is exactly like you think: to prepare for their time at Beacon. Or rather, more specifically, the rigorous entry exam into Beacon." Your eyes squint slightly and your mouth parts open a tiny bit in confusion, and Ozpin gestures to you. "Basically, if you already possess a good amount of combat experience, then you should be able to pass the entry exam without first attending a combat school."

"Ohhh..." you breathe out in understanding, your next question already on the tip of your tongue. "So, when can I take this entry exam?" Ozpin frowns slightly and pushes his glasses up closer to his face.

"Unfortunately, the entry exam is only once a year: two weeks before the start of each school term. And Beacon's entry exam was held five weeks ago. Technically, that means that you'd have to wait 'till next year to apply," he states nonchalantly, and your face droops in disappointment. However, Ozpin catches your attention again as he continues.

"However, there is a way to be admitted to Beacon without going through the exam, and that is to be recommended by one of Beacon's professors for enrollment." His smile returns as he leans forward slightly, the shrewd look still in his eyes. "And here's the best part: if you get recommended by a professor, then you can immediately begin attending Beacon Academy regardless of what time of year it is."

You inhale sharply as he reveals this juicy bit of information, hope once again filling your mind and making your heart beat slightly faster in joy. Ozpin's leans back in his chair, secretly enjoying your response to what he's offering. In your mind, you're hoping with all your soul that Ozpin is actually going to offer to recommend you for enrollment at Beacon, and your breath hitches as his next statement confirms your theory.

"So, here's the shortcut: I'm offering not only a way to skip both going to combat school and waiting for the next entry exam, but also a chance for you to start training to become a Huntsman right now." He pauses for a moment before looking you right in the eye with a serious expression. "However, that's assuming that I'm right about two things. First, that you have already accumulated a great deal of combat experience despite your age. Just because you'll be training doesn't mean that you'll be safe from danger during your five years here."

You nod in understanding. After all, you'll be training to be a Huntsman. It makes sense that the best way to learn how is hands-on experience. You give Ozpin your undivided attention as he continues, your body and soul filled with absolute confidence. So what's the second thing?

"And second, that you understand exactly what becoming a Huntsman might entail for you in the future." Your confident expression evaporates into concern as Ozpin says this, and he immediately elaborates, his glasses catching the sunlight filtering into the room and hiding his eyes behind a lens flare.

"I'm going to be straight-forward with you right now, becoming a Huntsman isn't just going to be a legacy of glory and heroic feats. As a Huntsman, your first priority is first to the people of Remnant, both inside and outside the kingdom. Under most circumstances, this will only involve you fighting off Grimm, saving people's lives, and assisting them with their daily lives and any problems they may have. At other times, however, you will be asked to do those things that you aren't comfortable with and those that are considered at best morally questionable, and sometimes you will either fail to save a person's life or fail to finish what you were assigned to do. Either way, worse case scenario is that you also lose your own life in the process." He leans back out of his chair and closer to your resting form, his face now devoid of positivity as he tells you the very real risks of becoming a Huntsman. "Not only that, but the Grimm won't be the only enemy that will try to stop you. As I'm sure you're aware, not everyone in Vale is interested in the well-being of others, and instead choose to take advantage of them in order to benefit their own agenda. As a Huntsman, it's your job to protect the people. However, I can garuntee that at many points in your career, you will have to make a hard decision." He leans forward in his chair, the lens flare disappearing from his glasses.

"If it means protecting the people, you may be asked to take the life of another person." Your eyes narrow as he reveals the dilemma that plague the minds of many a professional Huntsman. Ozpin watches your reaction with guarded interest, but he can't help but let some degree of surprise enter his expression as you give him your response.

"Naturally." Your response isn't the only thing that catches him off guard- your demeanor has completely changed from its interested, charismatic tone to a much darker one, giving off the impression that you almost expected this news.

"So (Y/N), knowing all of what I've told you, you've now got two choices," Ozpin says, regaining your attention and pulling you from your dark train of thought. "Either you can choose to walk away from the potential risks of a Huntsman and pursue another way of life here in Vale or elsewhere in the world, or... you can choose to accept my offer to become a Huntsman-in-training at Beacon Academy and commit yourself to protecting others and putting their needs and lives before your own at any and all costs." He sits up straighter in his chair as he takes a small breath. "If you do say no, I won't hold it against you. Know that there is no shame in abstinence, only in retreat." He takes one final sip of his coffee and looks you square in the eyes again. "(Y/N) Reaper, do you wish to enroll at Beacon Academy and become a Huntsman-in-training?"

"Yes, I wish to become a Huntsman," you declare, conviction evident in all of your features. Ozpin nods once and leans back in the chair, concern still edging his mind. He knows that you're mind is made up, but he asks the question anyway.

"Despite knowing the risks?"

"Especially knowing the risks."

"And why's that?"

"It's just like you said: there are people out there that will take advantage of others. If I'm not ready to... stop them..." you say after a brief pause, carefully wording your explanation. "...then they'll only continue to make others suffer." You take a deep breath before continuing, ignoring the burning pain flaring up from your side stretching in response to your breath. "I had already figured out that Huntsmen don't just fight Grimm." Ozpin nods in understanding and stands up, gently pushing the chair back into its spot at the table.

"In that case..." He gestures to the rest of the room in front of your bed. "Welcome to Beacon Academy!" His gesture confuses you, and you sit there for a few more seconds confused about his gesture until the implications hit you.

"Wait, we're at Beacon right now?" you say in disbelief, and Ozpin nods in confirmation.

"Yes. In the Infirmary Wing, to be exact," he says casually, and your mouth parts open slightly in both surprise and disbelief. You thought you were in a first-rate hospital in the middle of the kingdom, not in Beacon's infirmary. To be honest, you didn't even know Beacon had an infirmary to begin with. Ozpin allows a smirk to cross onto his face and walks back to the table he got the chair from. He reaches into the box he set down earlier and withdraws a neatly folded uniform and sets it down on the table. It consists of a black suit, a blue vest, a white shirt with a red tie, and black dress pants. He then reaches back into the box and pulls out a scroll and holds it out to you. You grab the scroll from his outstretched hand with an unspoken question plastered to your face, and Ozpin explains.

"That'll be the scroll you'll use during your time at Beacon. It's already got your class schedule and dorm number on it. Since you're now a student here at Beacon, you'll be expected to attend classes on a regular schedule, though you won't start until next week. In the meantime-"

"He won't be going anywhere for a couple weeks until that wound on his side completely heals." A woman's voice sounded from the door, and you see a middle-aged woman with blond hair, glasses, green eyes, and a black-and-white outfit standing there. Her arms are crossed in a stern business-like manner, though she's holding a scroll with some information already pulled up. Ozpin turns and greets her.

"Miss Goodwitch, his aura should heal all of that in due time-"

"Except that his aura isn't doing anything to heal him at all," she interrupts him, a concerned yet stern look on her face as she crosses the room to Ozpin, her black high-heels clicking on the bare floor as she hands him the scroll she was holding. "According to this, his aura isn't activating at all, despite the fact that he's been here two days with his wound getting no better."

"(Y/N) sustained a pretty bad wound, Glynda. It's possible that his aura has only just now recovered enough to begin healing him. Not everyone's aura functions at the same rate, you know."

"Aura doesn't take this long to regenerate and begin healing the body, Professor Ozpin. Besides, that bed should be enhancing his aura. He should've been fully healed by this morning."

"Then perhaps there's something else-"

"What's an aura?" The question was out before you can stop yourself, and you inwardly cringe as Ozpin and Glynda slowly turn their heads to look at you in disbelief. Suddenly self-conscious, your gaze nervously flits between the two professors as they stand there and look at you as if you'd grown two heads. It was a very long ten seconds before Glynda finally breaks the silence.

"You... don't know... what aura is?" she says, the surprise in her tone matching the surprise evident on her face. You slowly shake your head, and Ozpin slowly pulls the chair from earlier next to him and sits down, his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose in thoughtful disbelief.

"So, let me get this straight- you've fought enough Grimm to gain a pretty decent knowledge of how to fight them, then crossed the mountains from Tyrock through the valley trail, which you said took a month and that the trail was normally more dangerous than the mountain trails under normal circumstances, wandered the Forever Fall Forest for... however long you've been in there, fighting Grimm as you did so... all without an aura?" You slowly nod your head in agreement, though confusion still clouds your mind.

"Yeah... I think."

"What do you mean 'You think'?!" Glynda shouts, then glances around nervously, worried she'd been a little loud, then glances back at you. "How did you do all of that without an aura?"

 _Aura this, aura that, WHAT IS AURA?!_ you mentally scream that in your head, but you say it out loud in a calmer tone. "Can someone please tell me what an aura is?" Both Professors exchange a look between each other, and Glynda slumps her shoulders and sighs.

"Okay, how can I put this in terms you'll understand... aura is, in a way, our souls as a physical energy. Anything that has a soul has aura, but those who have learned to harness their aura have also learned how to manipulate it to their physical advantage." You slowly nod your head as she continues explaining, but you're still not sure why this has to do with you still being in a hospital bed.

"Okay, but what does this have to do with my injury?" This time it's Ozpin who responds to your query.

"Like Professor Goodwitch just said, anyone skilled enough in using their aura can utilize it for a variety of abilities. For most, if not all, Huntsmen and Huntresses, these usually fall into three different uses: the first is as a defensive force that can be used to deflect physical harm away from the body." Your eyes widen slightly in understanding and amazement.

"Like a shield?" Ozpin nods his head in confirmation and pushes his glasses further up the bridge of his nose.

"Precisely, although it does have a couple drawbacks: even though your aura can deflect physical harm, you can still feel pain and exhaustion, and you're not invincible. The more damage you sustain, the more aura that is used to deflect the damage. If you take too much damage, you'll run out of aura, and when that happens, you can actually get hurt."

Your eyes flit downward in thought, a thought forming in your head. You think back to your fight against the Death Stalker, specifically when you saw Blake get sent flying with a powerful hit, but just shrugged it off after a few seconds. Suddenly, it all makes sense. You raise your head back up and look at Glynda, then at Ozpin. "So, if I had my aura when I was hit by that Ursa, I could've avoided being hospitalized in the first place?" Ozpin grunts in response and props his arm onto the arm rest of the chair, his head leaning onto his hand.

"Technically, yes, but that's only one way you can use your aura. The second way people tend to use aura is as a weapon." This catches your attention even more than before, and you lean a little further forward in interest. Ozpin notices this and chuckles a little and starts to elaborate further. "People who've used their aura to block damage long enough usually figure out how to do the opposite and use it to deal damage. The most common way to do this is to project your aura outward suddenly and forcefully, almost like a shockwave. But-" he says as you're about to speak. "This also has a major drawback, and it's the reason people don't do this often. Using your aura as a weapon requires quite a significant amount of aura, and in a fight, if you use too much of your aura for offense, you'll have lost all of your aura without even taking a hit. It's basically a double-edged sword."

You lean back into the backside of your bed disappointed. Using aura as a weapon sounds so cool to you, but Ozpin's made it sound like it's too much of a risk to use often. You think back to when you fought alongside the team that rescued you and realize that none of them used any kind of shockwave against that Death Stalker.

In a fight, you'd need aura to defend yourself if you get hit. If you use it all up as an attack, then you're pretty much doomed. You feel your disappointment fade like morning dew and you look back at Ozpin.

"Okay, so what's the third way aura is used?" This time, it's Glynda who answers your question. She hasn't moved from her spot halfway between the table and the door, her arms crossed on her chest.

"As I'm sure you've guessed by now, if you're aura is depleted, it won't stay that way for long. As time passes, your aura will gradually restore itself over time as your body rests, and here's the best part-" she says as she shifts her weight onto her hip. "Once you've recovered enough of your aura, it will automatically begin to heal any damage done to your body while your aura was depleted."

The full implications of her words hit you, and you look down at the blood-stained gauze roll wrapped around your side. "So, if I had known how to use aura, I could use it to heal myself?" Both professors nod in agreement. Ozpin lifts his head off his arm and shifts around in his chair slightly to get comfortable again.

"Well, in order to use aura, you have to..." He trails off for a few seconds, trying to think of the right word to describe what he's trying to say. "... unlock it, in a sense. Once you've unlocked your aura, it will do the healing all on it's own."

You take your eyes off of your injured side and look at the Headmaster. "So, how do I unlock it?" Ozpin grunts once and stands up, pushing the chair back into place at the table. He walks up to the side of your bed and kneels next to you so that your head is level with his.

"For one to unlock it on their own requires practice and training- learning how to focus on projecting your soul as a physical force to ward off harm. As your knowledge of your own soul increases, your aura will unlock within time. However, if you are to start attending classes here at Beacon, we need to unlock your aura now." You stare at him confused, and Ozpin smiles and shrugs at the same time. "For the sake of time, I'll go ahead and unlock your aura using my own. Now-" Ozpin places a firm hand on your shoulder. "Close your eyes and concentrate."

You close your eyes and try to imagine what an aura looks like. _Aura is, in a way, our souls as physical energy._ Glynda's words echo through your head, and you try to imagine that your body is surrounded by your soul. Ozpin's words cut into your thoughts, but he sounds far away, even though you know he's right next to you.

"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and abide thy shield to protect thee." As he speaks, you begin to feel a growing numbness spread throughout your entire body, and by the time Ozpin's done speaking, you can't feel anything- not the bed, not Ozpin's hand on your shoulder, not even your own heartbeat. Unfamiliar and uncomfortable with this new feeling, you open your eyes. As soon as you do, you notice that the feeling vanished as soon as you opened your eyes.

The next thing that you notice is that your body is glowing in a big blue outline, and in your peripheral vision you see Ozpin is also glowing with a green outline. Your mind instantly clouds in a mixture of awe and fear, and you draw your body a little closer into your chest. You immediately feel your side start to act up again, but the pain isn't as severe this time. You look down at the roll covering your wound, and as you stare at it, you notice that that same numbness you felt earlier is still in your side, but barely.

 _Is this my aura?_

"Curious..." Ozpin says eyeing your wound, his eyebrows furrowed in thought. The green outline that was surrounding his body has already vanished, and the outline surrounding you has also started to fade, albeit slowly. Glynda tilts her head in confusion and, uncrossing her arms, inches a little bit closer to him.

"What's curious?" Ozpin pinches the bridge of his nose in thought. As soon as he finished unlocking your aura, something felt off. He didn't sense anything wierd about your aura, but something definitely caught his attention.

I didn't feel anything wrong with his aura, but something was... off? No, that's not the right word... familiar? Hmm... I'll dwell on this drags his mind back to the present and stands back up from his kneeling position.

"Now that you have your aura unlocked, there's one more thing that needs to be taken care of," he says as he turns around and grabs his cane from its resting position against the table. You inwardly sigh as he turns back around to you.

 _Next he's going to tell me I have superpowers,_ you think sarcastically. Ozpin holds his cane in front of his chest, and your gaze flits to it. He gestures to it with his free hand.

"From what I've heard, your weapon got destroyed back in the Forever Fall Forest, and a Huntsman is incomplete without their weapon," Ozpin states, and you audibly sigh, your posture slouching downward momentarily.

"So, where do I go to get a new weapon?" you ask. To your surprise, Ozpin just shakes his head and points his finger at you.

"You won't just be getting a new weapon. You'll be making it yourself." Instead of feeling excited, you feel a little discouraged, and you bring your hand up and scratch your head.

"As awesome as that sounds, I don't know how to make a new weapon. My last one-"

"And that's why you won't make it on your own," Ozpin interjects, grasping his coffee mug with his free hand and resting his other on his cane. "Is a scythe the only weapon you've ever used?" You shrug.

"Well, I'm also good with knives," you say honestly. Ozpin raises an eyebrow at you, and you scratch the back of your head again. "But yeah, I normally use a scythe." Ozpin grunts once in amusement and starts for the door.

"Well then, you can begin making it as soon as you're fit to leave the infirmary. As soon as you've recovered, though, I'd like you to go ahead and get situated in your new dorm room. The directions are already on your scroll, as is your new schedule that will start four days from now. As soon as you're ready to make your new weapon, I've got two people in mind that can help you with that." He opens the door and starts to walk through it, only to pause and look back at you. "Also, remember to wear your uniform to all your classes, except for her sparring class," he says with a gesture to Glynda. She only huffs in response and struts past Ozpin out of the room, the Headmaster shortly following suit. The door closes behind him, leaving you by yourself on the bed.

You look back down at the wound wrapped in gauze roll on your side, and you feel a sudden curiosity to see what the aura's done for your wound so far. You reach around and start feeling around the back of the roll, trying to feel for where the end of the roll was tied in a knot to keep the gauze in place. You feel a bump in the roll after patting the roll for a few seconds, and you grasp the knot with your hand. After fiddling around with it for a dozen-or-so seconds, you finally manage to loosen the end of the roll from the knot, and you give it a good tug. The end slips free of the roll and loosens it from your waist. You slowly unwrap the roll, layer by layer, until it's been completely removed from around your side, and you get a good look at the wound on your side.

Your eyes land on a decent-sized cut in your side with a blue outline around it, which you assume is your aura working to heal it. There was also a scar on both sides of the cut, which you also assume were the other gashes inflicted onto you by the Ursa.

 _This is what landed me in the infirmary? Man, aura works fast,_ you think in silent awe as you sit there, your eyes transfixed on the cut in your side. After about fifteen minutes or so of watching, you can start to visibly see the wound slowly closing up from your aura healing it. You sit there for a while, watching it slowly close up until it's been reduced to nothing more than a scar identical to the two surrounding it. You look back up at the clock on the wall and widen your eyes in surprise at the time- 11:43.

 _All that happened in less than an hour?!_ You shake your head in momentary disbelief, then look back down at your cut, which has been reduced to basically a paper cut at this point. Well, I think it's safe to say I can walk now. You swing your legs out from under the covers, and a stiff feeling immediately spikes up in both your legs from being in a bed for two days. You stand up despite the feeling, and shake each leg out, getting rid of the stiffness in about a minute or so. You then turn towards the table with your original clothes, your uniform, and your new scroll. You put on the shirt and jacket, rolling your shoulders around afterwards. Then, you grab your scroll and open it, and immediately a map of the campus grounds appears on screen, with a line winding through campus from where you assume the infirmary is to where you also assume your dorm room is. You look at the scroll a little longer to memorize the route, then pocket the scroll in one of your jacket pockets, grab your uniform from underneath to keep it folded, and start out the door of your room towards you dorm, and your new life as a Huntsman.


	2. Chapter 1: Wind Reaper

The moment your eyes open, your head immediately snaps from side to side, adrenaline beginning to pump through your body as your hand instinctively shoots to your side, trying to grasp your scythe. When your hand grasps the bed sheets, you look over to where your scythe should be lying next to you.

 _Wait, bed sheets?_ The adrenaline vanishes as soon as it appeared, and you observe your surroundings, taking a few moments to process what's around you until you realize that you're inside your dorm room, laying in a bed with red covers off to the side of the room. A window sits with its red curtains drawn open in the center of the wall behind your bed, overlooking the parts of Vale not obscured by the academy's grounds, the evening light of the afternoon sun filtering into the room. In the opposite wall is the door leading out of your dorm room into the halls of the north dormitory. A study desk sits next to the door, with your uniform, scroll, and some textbooks resting on top. The desk's chair is currently hosting your jacket on its back where you left it prior to you taking a 'power nap' several hours earlier.

You sit up in the bed and glance down at the space to your side where you thought your scythe should be. Then, the reality of the past week's events come back to you head- the massive Death Stalker, the broken scythe, the days in the infirmary, Ozpin's visit, getting accepted into Beacon, discovering about your aura...

 _As soon as you're ready to make your new weapon, I've got two people in mind that can help you with that._ Ozpin's words from this morning flit through your thoughts, and you swing your legs out from underneath the covers, already reaching for your jacket.

 _I need a new scythe, but I have no idea how to make a weapon._ You slide your arms through the sleeves of your jacket, feeling it slip on over your shirt with relative ease. _Ozpin says he knows two people that can help me, so I need to find him._ You grasp the doorknob with your hand and twist, the door opening into the room toward you. You step out of your room, closing the door behind you as soon as you exit the door threshold, and reach into your jacket pocket, pulling out your scroll. _The sooner I have my weapon, the sooner I can practice with it during training._ You open the screen, which is still showing a map of the academy grounds, but this time you have no line on the screen like you did when you were walking to your room earlier today.

You spend several minutes fiddling around with the map controls, rotating and sliding the map around the campus trying to make sense of the academy's layout and where the headmaster's office is. When you realize that you lost where you're located on the map, you close the scroll in frustration and holster it back into your jacket. You cross your arms and lean against the wall, trying to recall anything that stood out on the campus when you were strolling to your room this morning. You sigh as nothing comes to mind.

"If I were the headmaster, where would I be right now?"

"I'd be standing right next to you."

"What the-!" you start as Ozpin's voice sounds next to you, bolting off the wall and taking two steps backward in surprise. The headmaster is standing only a few feet away looking down at you, holding his cane in one hand and a coffee mug in the other. Your initial surprise vanishes as soon as it appeared, and you quickly regain your composure, returning your posture to a relaxed, standing one. Before you can say anything, the headmaster raises his coffee mug slightly in greeting.

"Good evening, (Y/N). I take it you're ready to make your weapon?" he queries, and you nod in silent affirmation. He takes a quick sip from his coffee. "Excellent. I've already told the two people I mentioned earlier about helping you in this matter." He turns away from you slightly and gestures into the rest of the hallway behind him. "Right this way," he says as he starts walking down the hallway; you notice that he's not leaning on his cane for support, only holding the handle as he walks. You cast a glance at your dorm room before following suite.

 _I hope I can remember my way back. From what I can tell, this place has four dormitories, and those two people could be in any of the other three._

You notice Ozpin stop walking after a dozen or so steps, and you do the same, confused. _Why'd he stop?_ Ozpin then extends his hand with the coffee mug toward a door next to him and lightly raps his knuckle against it, hard enough to make an audible knocking sound, but not hard enough to spill the contents of his drink. Almost immediately, you recognize a familiar voice call out a response.

"Coming!" A heartbeat later, the door swings halfway open into the room, and you recognize the raven-haired girl standing at the door, about the same height as you. Ruby's optimistic silver gaze locks onto the headmaster's face, her body seeming full of energy despite the waning hours of the day. "What kind of weapon are we making?" she asks, cutting straight to the point. Ozpin chuckles, amused at how eager she is to get started. Before he can respond, Yang's voice sounds from further into the room.

"What's up, Professor?" From what you could see from your angle, the blonde's head was poking up over the end of a bed resting precariously on top of four stacks of books positioned on top of the bedposts of the bed below it, giving the two beds the appearance of an extremely shifty bunk bed.

"Well, as it happens, I require miss Rose's assistance with something. Only miss Rose's," he adds as Yang hops down off of the unsafe contraption her team calls a bunk bed, though she still looked like she might like to object to that. Ruby steps out of the threshold of the room's door and turns around to Yang.

"I'll be back later tonight, Yang," she promises, which seems to convince her sister. She hops back up into the top bunk and returns to her original position, her head peeping over the bed frame once more. She notices you standing behind Professor Ozpin a little further out into the hallway, and her eyes squint in curiosity.

"Is that the boy you had us rescue, Professor?" she queries, and it's only then does Ruby notice that you're also standing there. Before Ozpin can say anything, Ruby's already out in the hallway, standing next to Ozpin as she sizes you up with her eyes.

"Yeah. Is he going to help us make the weapon, Professor?" she asks, turning her silver gaze onto the headmaster. He nods in confirmation and takes a drink from what's left of his coffee. Yang's voice cuts into the hall from her dorm room.

"So why does he need Ruby's help to make his own weapon?" Ozpin casts a backward glance at you, then at Ruby, and finally turns his gaze onto Yang and clears his throat, this time with no interruptions.

"Since (Y/N) wants a scythe as his weapon and he's never made one before, I thought that miss Rose might be able to assist him in that regard." Ozpin's response convinces Yang, and she only shrugs in response and disappears further back along the bed, her head disappearing behind the bed frame.

Ozpin turns away from the door, and Ruby steps next to the door and pulls it shut. He walks across to the other side of the hall and stops in front of another door, already lightly rapping on it with his knuckles. Ruby casts her curious gaze onto you, and you turn your head to meet it with your own identical gaze.

"So, your name's (Y/N)?" she asks, and you tilt your head in confusion for a split second. Then you remember that you never got the chance to introduce yourself in the Forever Fall Forest, and you nod your head in silent confirmation. She smiles and extends her hand out towards you. "Nice to meet you, (Y/N). I'm Ruby." You reach out and shake her hand in turn, completing the greeting, though your face remains devoid of a smile or emotion.

"Nice to meet you too." You both relinquish the handshake just as the door Ozpin knocked on opens up, revealing a red-haired girl in a gold-accented, Spartan-like armor set, complete with a xiphos and shield resting on her back. She politely waves at all three of you, a kind smile alight on her face.

"Hello, Professor Ozpin. Is it time to make the weapon?" Ozpin nods in response, gesturing back at you and Ruby with his cane.

"It is, miss Nikos. I've asked miss Rose to help you with his weapon," he states, Ruby waving at the Spartan when he mentions her name.

"Hey Pyrrha!" she greets, a smile to plastered to her face. Pyrrha steps out of her room and closes the door behind her as Ozpin steps toward the end of the hallway leading towards the building's exit.

"Miss Rose, miss Nikos, mister Reaper-" Ozpin hails each of you by your last names. "It will be dark in a few hours. It'd be best if we go ahead and get started now. This way, please." Ozpin gestures briefly toward the end of the hall, already moving toward the stairwell situated in the far corner of the hallway. The rest of you follow suite, Ruby and Pyrrha chitchatting as they walk side-by-side while you follow them from a couple steps away, passing all three of your dorm rooms as you go. As you all travel down four flights of stairs, their conversation is initially focused on what the other did earlier that day, but as you reach the bottom of the steps and step out into the first floor, their focus has shifted onto you.

"So that's why he doesn't have a weapon... How bad was he hurt?" Pyrrha asks, the conversation shifting to when you were hit by an Ursa. Ruby's face has adopted a more serious and downcast look as she begins to talk about that subject, which surprises you considering that you've been under the impression that Ruby has a permanently cheerful demeanor.

"It was really bad... there was a lot of blood, and the gash was really big..." Ruby says, uncomfortable at describing the scene and occasionally letting a shiver ripple through her body. You flinch when she mentions the gash that had plagued your health in the infirmary for three days, and your mind recalls the memory against your will- Ruby's warning, your scythe's unfortunate demise, a thunderbolt of intense pain with a flash of bright red-

"Hello?" It takes a hot second for you to register Pyrrha had turned her head around and was addressing you, and you rip your mind away from the flashback and into the present.

"Hm?"

"How long were you in the infirmary for?" Pyrrha repeats her question.

"I got out just this morning," you respond, and Ruby's eyes widen in surprise.

"Two days!?" she exclaims. Even Pyrrha is genuinely surprised.

"That's a long time for aura to heal someone," she comments. "Why did it take that long?" she asks, more to herself than to you, though you feel like she was directing the question at you. While you're trying to think of an answer, Ozpin cuts in from ahead and answers the question.

"Because he was on the verge of death, his aura didn't start healing him until his condition had stabilized, which wasn't until yesterday," he answers, which seems to satisfy Ruby and Pyrrha, but makes you raise an eyebrow in confusion.

 _That's not what happened,_ you say in your head, and you nearly voice the comment aloud when you catch a look from Ozpin that basically says _Don't worry about it._ You shrug and continue trudging on in Ozpin's wake.

Ozpin turns and heads into a building after another two minutes of walking through the academy grounds, the occasional group of students giving your group a curious stare and several whispers that speak of short-lived rumors and temporary speculation.

The building in question is actually just one enourmous room, with multiple sets of machines, materials, and equipment peppering the room in equal margins, while bright fluorescent lights, bright flames, and heated metals from stations currently in use provide lighting to the entire room. The stations each contain a furnace for heating metals, tools and molds to help with shaping hot metal, a grinder for sharpening, a large table with an extreme amount of gadgets, electric gizmos, nails, etc., a large barrel containing a special oil for rapidly cooling off hot metal, and a large shelf with several rows displaying various metal bars vertically arranged on top of each other.

You gaze around the room at all of the stations occupying the vast expanse, eyeing the closest vacant station to try and make sense of how it was used to make weapons. Ozpin clears his throat, drawing the attention of you, Ruby, and Pyrrha back onto him, speaking loudly to be heard over the whir and whine of the mass amount of machines in the forge.

"Since I have other matters that I must attend to, I'll leave the three of you to make (Y/N)'s weapon. It's the end of the week, and since classes aren't held on the weekends, that means you all have today, tomorrow, and Sunday to make (Y/N)'s weapon." He eyes you as he continues. "If you're going to be attending Beacon, you'll need to have a weapon of your own, and remember that it's yourweapon," he says with a high emphasis on 'your'. With that, he turns heel and walks out of the building, leaving you, Ruby, and Pyrrha to your own devices.

The other two Huntresses-in-training turn to look at you, and you meet each of their gazes in turn, absolutely clueless as to what to do or how to begin.

"Err... so... what do we do first?" you ask, and Ruby and Pyrrha exchange a glance before Pyrrha answers.

"Well, what kind of weapon do you want to make?"

"A scythe." You don't hesitate in your answer, but after a pause, a thought crosses your mind. "A backup knife would be handy, too." The two girls exchange another glance, and this time Ruby speaks, and her question confuses you.

"That's it?" You tilt your head to the side, confused, and just shrug.

"Mhm." Ruby's face screws up in disbelief.

 _He doesn't want to add anything onto it?_ she thinks, readying another question in her mind to clarify, but Pyrrha's the first to voice Ruby's thoughts.

"You don't want to add anything onto your weapon?"

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha's head droops and she sighs.

"You only want to make a regular, plain ol' scythe?" Ruby queries, her confused gaze locking onto your own gaze as you try to decipher what these two are trying to tell you.

"I use a scythe. Why would I need something else?" you ask, and Ruby gives up mentally, not understanding why you want a simple weapon.

"Oh!" Pyrrha exclaims, finally understanding the brain fart currently passing between the three of you. "I think you're mistaken into thinking we want to make more than just the scythe and knife, correct?"

"Mhmmm," you affirm, wondering where Pyrrha's train of thought is heading as she continues.

"What we mean is that you could add some modifications to your weapon, to make it more... um..." Pyrrha trails off as she tries to think of the appropriate word. Ruby finally catches on to the problem and finishes her sentence for her.

"Versatile?"

"Yeah!" Pyrrha exclaims, hoping they're getting their point across to you.

"I don't follow." They both slump their shoulders at your response. Ruby pulls out Crimson Rose and deploys it, drawing your attention onto her weapon.

"I made my weapon as a scythe also, but I also made it to turn into a gun as well," she explains as she reconfigures Crimson Rose into its sniper mode, and understanding finally dawns on you as you understand what the girls are trying to tell you.

"Oh, so you're asking what other weapons I want to combine into my weapon?" They both shake their heads enthusiastically, and you start to think of what you can add onto the scythe. At first, nothing comes to mind, until you think back to your fight with Team RWBY against the Death Stalker, and your mind's eye locks onto the various things you noticed their weapons doing. Suddenly, multiple ideas pop into your head, each one seeming better than the last. As Ruby and Pyrrha sit there and observe you, they get progressively more curious as they see your expression change and light up with each passing idea that flips through your head. Ruby actually shivers with apprehension as you finally look back at your two helpers.

"Well... here's what I have in mind..."

* * *

Yang, Weiss, and Blake patiently wait for Ruby outside of the forge in the light of the afternoon sun. Earlier that morning, Ruby had seemed very excited to continue working on your weapon, saying that they were very close to finishing the final product. When they had questioned her the previous day about your weapon, she had told them that you asked her not to tell anyone about the weapon.

"He said he wants the Wind Reaper's abilities to be kept secret," she had told them.

Yang looks up at a cloud in the afternoon sky, squinting her eyes from the glare of the nearby sun as she thinks.

 _Classes start back up tomorrow, and she said that they were close to finishing._ _I wonder what kind of weapon that boy wants..._ she ponders as she averts her eyes from the sky back onto the forge that holds her team leader's current obsession. She shifts in place, the cold January weather and past two and a half hours of waiting working together to gradually chip away at the blonde brawler's patience. _She said they're almost done, so what's-_ The doors of the forge interrupt Yang's train of thought, dramatically swinging wide open to reveal you, Ruby, and Pyrrha standing at the door, the three of you moderately sweating from the heat of the active stations within the academy forge.

"Ahh! Sweet cool air!" Ruby exclaims, stepping out of the door threshold and throwing her arms out wide to receive the much-needed refreshment. You and Pyrrha relish the cool air more subtly than your energetic crafting partner. Yang, Weiss, and Blake each glance at Ruby, then Pyrrha, then you.

"So, the weapon's complete?" Yang asks, and Ruby nods energetically.

"Yep! It's-"

"Ruby..." you interrupt, giving the team leader a meaningful stare as she turns to meet your gaze with her questioning one. "You promised..."

"Oh yeah. Sorry (Y/N)," she apologizes. Yang looks at you with a critical stare as her sister refrains from saying anything more about your new scythe.

"Why can't she say anything?" Yang directs the question at you, and you meet her gaze with a neutral stare.

"You'll see me use it soon enough," you answer, which only serves to agitate Yang a little more. Still, she refrains from saying anything, hoping that Ruby will talk about it once you're out of earshot. You turn to Pyrrha and Ruby.

"Anyway, thank you for helping me."

"You're welcome!" Ruby responds cheerfully.

"It was our pleasure," Pyrrha chimes, a little more professionally. Satisfied with their responses, you turn around and head off in the direction of your dorm building. You're a little more acquainted with the layout of Beacon since leaving the infirmary a few days ago, currently thinking about an isolated spot you saw in the Forever Fall Forest while wandering around off campus early yesterday morning. With your new scythe compressed into the shape of a rod between your back and the inside of your jacket, your first instinct is to head past the dorm building toward the spot of interest so that you can start practicing with your new weapon, but your stomach soon objects after you take about ten steps.

 _Scratch that, I'm grabbing lunch,_ you think as you change direction and head off towards the cafeteria.

* * *

Both Team RWBY and Team JNPR sit down at the same table in the cafeteria, each person carrying a tray of different foods. Team RWBY sits down on one side of the long table, and Team JNPR sits down directly across from them. The cafeteria itself is mostly empty, since everyone usually eats at about noon instead of two o'clock.

Yang wastes no time in sawing off a large portion of her steak with a knife and gulping it down. As everyone else eats their lunches a little bit slower, Yang eyes Ruby, who's busy slurping some spaghetti off of her tray. Swallowing the steak, she throws a question at her sister.

"So, how does it work?"

"Hm?" Ruby swallows her spaghetti and turns a blank silver gaze onto her query. Yang takes a quick look around the room and spots you at the far end of their table wasting no time in eating a lunch similar to what Yang has. She gestures at you with a finger as she restates her question to Ruby.

"You know, how does his weapon work? What can it do?" she asks again, and Ruby casts a quick glance over at you before answering Yang.

"I... can't say."

"Why not?"

"I promised him I wouldn't say anything."

"Why?"

"Because he asked me not to say anything."

"Why doesn't he want you to say anything?"

"I don't know!"

Team JNPR sits there and listens to the two sisters bickering about Ruby's vow of silence, the conversation going nowhere for a solid minute. Finally, Yang gives up with a huff, and Ruby crosses her arms and raises her chin in victory. Weiss rolls her eyes at both her teammates' sisterly dispute, then casts a shady glance in your direction.

"I don't trust him." Everyone else turns their attention onto her, and Ruby quickly slurps down a few more noodles.

"Why not?" Ruby asks. "(Y/N) seems nice enough."

"Everything about him seems shady to me," Weiss responds, not taking her eyes off of you for a second. "He barely talks to anyone, he gives everyone suspicious looks, and he'll disappear off campus until it's either time to eat or he's working on his weapon in the evenings with you and Pyrrha." She turns her gaze away from you and casts a quick look at Pyrrha and then at Ruby. "What did he talk about when you helped him make his weapon?" Ruby tilts her head to one side as she thinks back to the past three evenings, and Pyrrha hums in thought.

"Now that you mention it..." Pyrrha starts, "He only talked when he was asking an occasional question."

"Exactly," Weiss states. "He's probably hiding something." Ruby tries to jump to your defense.

"Just because he doesn't talk much doesn't mean he's a bad guy," Ruby explains. "I mean, look at Ren." Everyone turns to look at Ren, who's taking a bite out of a banana. His blank glance shifts from person to person, and he swallows his banana and shrugs.

"She's not wrong," he states simply.

"Well, what about the whole vanishing act?" Weiss further prompts. "No one could find him anywhere unless he was in the forge or in the cafeteria." Ruby opens her mouth to further defend you, but can't think of an explanation for your occasional vanishing off campus, and closes her mouth again. Weiss allows a smirk to cross her face.

"Yeah, I've gotta agree with Weiss here," Blake says, drawing a surprised look from her team leader. "I've seen my fair share of shady characters, and he's definitely one of them." When Ruby tries to argue, Blake continues on. "Tries to stay away from people, looks at everyone critically, always brooding over something, tense in general... I'd say that perfectly describes your average juvenile delinquent. Not someone to be trusted," she finishes, biting into an apple afterwards.

"Yeah, he doesn't exactly carry that 'good guy' kind of vibe that most people here do," Yang adds, her voice slightly muffled from a piece of steak in her mouth. Ruby looks at each of her teammates in turn, disbelief flashing from her silver eyes.

"Don't you guys think you're being a little unfair? We barely know him at all." Ruby tries one more time to defend you against her teammates' accusations. "Besides, he wasn't rude or mean to me or Pyrrha at all this weekend. Help me out here, Pyrrha." Ruby appeals to Pyrrha for some support, but she glances downward a little uncomfortably.

"Well, he didn't really talk to us that much other than asking an occasional question... I don't think he's a bad guy, but it felt like he was purposely distancing himself in a... personal sense," she explains, much to Ruby's chagrin. She wants Pyrrha to help defend you against her teammates' accusations, but in Ruby's mind, all her testimony did was add onto the growing list of seemingly unfair grudges her team holds against you.

"My advice-" Blake starts, "best to keep him at a distance until we know a little more about him." Ruby doesn't say anything this time, only continuing to eat her lunch, which now seems a little less appealing to her appetite, as the two teams sitting at the table start to talk about another topic. Several minutes later, she casts a glance in the direction you're sitting in, but doesn't see you there anymore. After looking around the room for a few seconds trying to spot you, she doesn't see you in the room. Ruby shrugs, assuming you left after she and her team had finished arguing. Her teammates' words ring through her head, drowning out the conversation from her friends.

 _...he'll disappear off campus until it's either time to eat or he's working on his weapon... tries to stay away from people... he doesn't exactly carry that 'good guy' kind of vibe..._ Ruby shakes her head vigorously to dismiss her team's doubtful assumptions, and tries to eat some more spaghetti. To her growing disenchantment, her lunch doesn't seem that appetizing to her anymore.

* * *

"Guhhh..." Ruby groans, climbing into her bunk bed above Weiss's and face planting into her pillow. "We have Professor Port for three hours tomorrow... he always goes on and on and on and on with those stories!" she complains, which earns a grunt of agreement from Blake and Yang, while Weiss only huffs in disapprovement.

"Well, I, for one, think they're rather entertaining."

The room is thrown into darkness as Yang flips a switch near the door of their room. No one says another word as everyone clambers into their respective beds, Yang and Blake drifting off to sleep after a few minutes. Ruby shifts around in her bed, her mind flitting back to the argument in the cafeteria and filling her with a sense of restlessness. Weiss, on the other hand, is barely thinking about anything, yet a feeling of unease distill throughout her body, until she quietly gets up out of bed, without anyone noticing, and stands next to the window, her hand resting on the bookshelf in front of it. She stares at nothing in particular, only looking out into the night and seeing the repeating pattern of yellow squares on the academy grounds, cast from the active lights of adjacent rooms on various levels of the building.

A good fifteen minutes pass before Weiss notices one of those yellow squares flash as a figure passes through it, drawing her attention to it and immediately eliminating the sense of drowsiness beginning to creep up on her. As her gaze centers on the square of light in question, the figure is gone in the blink of an eye, and she stares at it in confused curiosity until movement on the ground in front of the building draws her gaze to a moving figure walking calmly away from the dorm. She can't identify who it is initially, but as the figure passes in front of another square of light, his body briefly becomes visible to her. Weiss instantly recognizes the wavy brown hair, the black jacket and combat jeans, and the silver eyes as you cast a quick backwards glance over your shoulder at the dorm building before returning your gaze forward. Weiss watches you crouch down and start checking your outfit for something, and she turns away from the window and, reaching up, lightly shakes Ruby's shoulder.

"Ruby, wake up." Ruby, unable to fall asleep, rolls over to see Weiss shaking her awake, her face having a sense of urgency set in her features.

"What is it?" she says softly and tiredly. Weiss's face disappears from Ruby's view, and she sits up to see her standing next to the window.

"Hurry up, or you'll miss it!" she whispers, pointing to something outside the window, and Ruby gets out of bed, moving quietly so as to not wake her sleeping teammates. She approaches the window the eyeballs where Weiss is pointing, and her sleepy state evaporates as she instantly sees you crouched down checking your outfit for something, recognizing you perfectly despite the dark of the night.

"Told you he was up to no good," Weiss whispers. "Why else would he sneak out in the middle of the night?"

"Maybe he's just taking a walk?" Ruby knows it's a bad defense, and so does Weiss.

"I doubt that he's just going for a walk when it's past curfew," she responds crossedly. She sees you stand up from your crouched position and continue onward toward the Forever Fall Forest. "Come on, we need to see what he's up to!" She doesn't wait for Ruby's response as she swipes her scroll off of the study desk, quietly cracks open the door, and slips through it. Ruby grabs hers from on top of the book shelf and follows Weiss out, though she hesitates in the doorway for a moment before quietly closing it, being careful not to wake Yang or Blake.

The two girls leave the building through the rear exit, both instantly spotting you trudging onward through the edge of the trees. They both break off into a run towards you, the soft grass eliminating any chances of you hearing their footsteps, though they slow down as they near the trees, the grass getting slightly rougher. As you walk through the Forest away from the academy, unknown to you, Ruby and Weiss trail you at a distance, both exercising great care in their movement so as to not alarm you to their presence.

However, Ruby's movements aren't driven by the same sense of purpose that drives Weiss's. She knows that Weiss wants to follow you so that she can find out what you're doing when you vanish from the academy, but she also thinks that Weiss also has a more personal reason for wanting to follow you. She can't decide if that reason is out of distrust or disapproval, or both. As the two students venture further and further into the forest after you, Ruby can't suppress a rising feeling of guilt inside her. Following you, in her opinion, feels wrong, even if Weiss is right and you are doing something wrong.

 _This is basically spying, and we'll also be in trouble if someone catches us. Or something._ Ruby pats a spot on her back as that last thought crosses her mind, and she feels dread slowly rise alongside the guilt. _We forgot our weapons! If the Grimm find us, we're toast!_

"Weiss?" Ruby's voice drifts softly into Weiss's ear, chalked to the brim with nervousness, though it's too quiet for you to pick up on it. "I think we should turn back!"

"We're not turning back!" Even though it was a whisper, Weiss's response is filled with stubborn resolve. "We're going to find out what he's doing because whatever it is can't be good."

"But we don't have our weapons!"

"If we turn around now, we'll lose track of him. We need to find out what he's doing." Weiss doesn't even turn her head around as she responds, continuing through the forest in your trail.

Ruby feels an urge to turn back anyway. The only thing that stops her is a fear of letting Weiss venture after you alone. She continues quietly but shakily through the forest in your wake behind Weiss.

You trudge on through the forest for another fifteen minutes, until you come across a small clearing filled with tall grass, an occasional bush, and multiple torn up and fallen tree logs and stumps. You stop for a brief moment at the edge of the clearing before trudging into the clearing, the two spies silently deciding to stakeout behind some bushes on top of a rise overlooking the clearing.

* * *

You continue moving into the small field until you're halfway between the center and the edge of the area you'd found yesterday morning. You stretch your arms over your head and slowly gaze around the field, a weird sense of nostalgia setting in as you take in your surroundings, failing to spot the two pairs of eyes in a bush on a nearby hill.

"Here's to hoping no giant Grimm show up like last time," you say aloud to no one in particular, a sense of isolation prompting you to start talking to yourself. You lift up the bottom of your jacket with one hand and grasp the metal rod attached to your back with the other. Holding it in one hand, you position your hand so that your fingers are out of the way of a sharp edge protruding from the side of the rod, and then give it a light shake.

Immediately, a scythe blade folds outward from where the edge was a moment ago, the blade extending another edge downward to double the size of the blade. The rod itself extends downward until it is four times the original length, a glowing green core exposed in the direct middle of the rod. Two chambers near the scythe blade extend outward from the rod, forming two triangles. Two more chambers near the bottom of the rod extend outward in the same fashion, except they maintain a rectangular shape instead of forming a triangle with the rod of the weapon, the two chambers glowing light blue.

You gaze upon the full-sized armament resting in your hand. Even though you were there while the weapon was being made, you still feel an uplifting sense of awe and satisfaction at seeing the weapon fully deploy successfully for the first time. You slowly pace forward as you turn the Wind Reaper around in your hands, observing it from multiple angles and admiring your new weapon.

You stop after a couple of steps when you feel your foot hit against something metal in the grass, curiosity replacing everything in the forefront of your mind. Leaning over, you pick up a metal stick in the ground, curious as to why it's there in the first place, until bells start going off in your head.

"This is a piece of my old scythe!" you say out loud, holding the broken half in one hand and the Wind Reaper in the other. You look around the field you're standing in again, this time with a new perspective on the surrounding forestry, instantly recognizing certain spots from where you and Team RWBY fought the Death Stalker- the indents on a tree where Yang was pinned, the three logs from where Ruby got pinned by a fallen log, and even a small bloodstain where you assume you were hit by an Ursa. You stare at your surrounding environment a little bit longer before allowing the broken rod to fall back down to the ground.

"Things have changed, now." You take a few steps over to an intact tree and lean your scythe against it, rolling your head back and forth to crack your neck. "Training time." You reach your arms out in various directions and stretch them, leaning over afterwards and doing the same with your legs to loosen up. You begin going over your training routine out loud.

"Shadow sparring first, then weapon practicing." You raise your hands up in a classic fighting stance, keeping your arms close to guard your face and chest. A thought crosses your mind. "This'd be more effective if I had a real partner to train with." In your mind, an imaginary copy of you is standing right in front of you with its hands raised to fight. "Let's begin."

You begin throwing simple jabs and kicks at your imaginary target, only focusing on the fundamentals of hand-to-hand combat and basic combos. At the same time, your imagine your fake opponent seamlessly blocking each punch and kick you launch at it. All the while, the two pairs of eyes continue to observe you from their bush on the hill.

"He only came out here to train?" Weiss says in disbelief, still staying quiet to avoid drawing your attention. Ruby smirks as she continues to watch you throw punches and kicks at an empty space.

"Looks like you were wrong, Weiss," she says smugly, which earns her a pointed stare from her peer. Ruby casts one final glance back through the bush at you before beginning to shuffle backward away from the bush. "Let's head back now."

"Wait!" Weiss's hand shoots backward and grips Ruby's shoulder, keeping her from backing up any farther from the bush. "He's training. This is our chance to find out how he fights, and how his weapon works," she explains before retracting her hand from Ruby's shoulder. Ruby shakes her head in disapproval. She's seen the way Weiss looks at people during Glynda's class, and the way she talks to them outside of that class.

 _She only makes friends with other people to find out how to beat them in a fight._ Ruby lightly shakes her head and scoots closer to their hiding bush once more. Even though she wants to head back to their team's room, she knows Weiss is going to stay and spy on you no matter what.

Before they know it, fifteen minutes pass by, and you decide to use more advanced and acrobatic combos. Your jabs change into lightning-fast hook punches and downward chops and your kicks change into spiraling kicks, axe kicks, and flip kicks. You begin delivering various, more advanced combos to the point where you look like a human tornado. Ruby's unable to look away from the mesmerizing combos, and even Weiss is genuinely impressed with your apparent mastery of hand-to-hand combat.

 _Is he better than Yang?_ The thought crosses Weiss's mind before she realizes it, and she lightly shakes her head to dismiss the thought.

Five more minutes pass before you cease the endless stream of attacks, your breath coming up heavy and fast, yet you're lightly hopping from side-to-side, energy rushing throughout your body in full force. You stop hopping after a moment and clench your fists in satisfaction.

"Still got it." You let your hands relax and stare around the clearing, your eyes landing on your weapon, still laying against the tree where you left it. Smirking, you start walking towards the new, deadly creation. "Shadow sparring's out of the way. Time to see how well this thing works." You grasp the scythe in both hands and return to the spot where you just finished shadow sparring. Adopting your usual combat pose, you bring your scythe up next to you with both hands as if you were about to fight. Then, you take a few practice swings, the scythe moving at lightning-fast speeds and surprising you with how light the scythe feels.

"That's faster than my last one," you comment to yourself, then glance at the glowing core sitting within the middle of the scythe's staff. "Alright, let's see if everything else works." You grasp the core with both hands and slide them away from each other. A clicking noise is made, and the top and bottom halves of the weapon split apart into a baton and a kama, with each half containing half of the green core. You flip the baton around in your hand so that it's not held backhanded, the two bottom chambers still glowing light blue, while holding the kama in a similar way. You look at each akimbo weapon in turn, mainly focusing on the split cores in each one.

"Freezerburn cores function both attached and dual-wielded." You look around for something to hit, and walk over to a nearby fallen tree, raising the baton over your head to strike it. Flashing your hand downward, you strike the tree with one of the light blue chambers on the edge of the baton, the blow imprinting a massive dent in the trunk and causing many electric sparks to fly in different directions from the point of impact. Satisfied with the end result, you flip the baton around until you're holding it backhanded again. Then, you bring the bottom of the baton against the bottom of the kama in your other hand, sliding the cores back together and reconnecting the akimbo weapons back into a full-size scythe.

"Stun baton works perfectly." Next, you twirl the scythe around your hands until your hands are in certain spots on the weapon and you're pointing the Wind Reaper at the same spot on the tree. With one hand already positioned on a spot below the core near the bottom of the scythe, you squeeze that hand, applying pressure to that spot on the scythe. Much to the amusement of the two observers on the hill, a high-pressure air blast explodes out of the bottom of the scythe, ripping a hole right through the tree with extreme force, but also sending you tumbling backward like a tumbleweed. Your back collides against a nearby tree stump and sends a dull spike of pain shooting up your back.

You stand back up and aim the scythe at a spot next to the new hole in your targeted tree, but this time you use less force on the scythe. Another air blast fires into the tree, but doesn't go through it like the first one did, and this time you manage to keep your footing. "Compression blaster works... well. One more thing to test out."

You squeeze your other hand, positioned near the top of Wind Reaper, and the scythe blade disconnects from the rod, remaining attached by a few inches of steel wiring. In reality, however, the two chambers near the top of the weapon contain almost two kilometers of wire collectively. You lift Wind Reaper above your head and start slowly twirling it, the wire slowly extending the more you spin the weapon. You spin the weapon faster and faster to the point where you feel a slight breeze in your hair from how fast Wind Reaper is spinning. The result is the wire spinning so fast that you're unable to keep up with it, the circle made from the spinning blade shredding through any tree it touches like tin foil. You stop spinning the weapon after a few more seconds and apply some pressure to the same spot on the rod, and a whirring noise is made as the wire retracts back into the wire chamber and a click as the scythe blade reattaches to the rod.

"Chain blade is working beautifully," you say as you let your arms hang in front of you lazily, the edge of Wind Reaper inches from the ground. You look up at the night sky for a moment before looking back down at Wind Reaper. "Couple more hours, and I think I'll be done."

* * *

Weiss and Ruby had spent the last hour and a half either watching you practice with Wind Reaper or talking about the deadly weapon at your disposal, the latter currently being the focus of their hushed conversation.

"So, why does he have a stun baton again?" Weiss had asked this question twice already, and Ruby just sighs.

"It's there to help slow down or stun enemies that are faster than him," Ruby explains in exasperation. "You know, like a stun baton!?" she snaps sarcastically.

"Okay, I get it. You don't have to get cross with me," Weiss says defiantly. They both go back to watching you practice with your new weapon, which you've gotten the hang of after an hour and a half of consecutive practice, already being able to chain the weapon's different attacks seamlessly together in a string of never-ending, high-speed acrobatic attacks.

In that span of time, you've worked out a system for when to use which attack against what opponent. You use the scythe normally for close-range, the air blaster to launch yourself in any direction as opposed to firing it like a weapon at the expense of your balance, the chain blade to reach far away enemies, and the akimbo stun baton and kama for managing high-speed opponents, or the stun baton alone for delivering non-lethal attacks.

Another minute passes when Ruby starts shuffling backwards away from their hiding spot for the hundredth time.

"Weiss, we've been here for _ever_! Let's get back to Beacon already." Ruby's been practically begging Weiss to head back to their dorm room for the past half hour, to which Weiss always responds with 'We're not leaving until he does.'

Ruby huffs and scoots back forward to continue watching you through their bushy cover. As she grudgingly stares at you training, something red flashes at the edge of the clearing, and her gaze is immediately drawn to it. She stares directly at the two glowing red dots, wondering what that is, until her blood turns cold from the realization.

 _Grimm!_

The deathly creature stays at the edge of the clearing, watching you train with your back turned to it. Another Grimm appears next to it, and after a minute, a dozen Beowolves have shown up at the edge of the clearing, menace lighting each of the creatures' gazes. It's only until they start to slowly advance into the clearing with growls in their throats when you finally get the feeling that something's watching you, and you turn around to see all twelve of the Grimm at the edge of the clearing, stopping their advance as soon as you turn around.

Ruby immediately starts to get up, preparing to help you, and only then does Weiss remember that their weapons are back in their room.

"Wait!" she warns, pulling her trigger-happy partner back down into cover. "We can't help him without our weapons." Ruby looks at her like she was an idiot.

"Why do you think I wanted to go back to the room earlier!?" she snaps, and Weiss visibly flinches. "Now we can't-"

"I was wondering when you'd all show up." Your voice drifts into Ruby and Weiss's hearing, and they both slowly look at you through the bushes as if you'd just gone mental. At first they thought they were hearing things, but your next statement confirms their disbelief. "I was starting to get bored." You drop into your combat stance, your scythe ready to meet the pack of Grimm head on. The lead Beowolf roars a challenge in response to your taunting and charges across the field towards you, the rest of the pack following suite with murderous intent.

You spin the scythe quickly above your head, releasing Wind Reaper's chain blade in the process. The first three Beowolves run head-first into the edge of the wire as you spin the scythe faster and faster, creating a metal spiral of death above your body that revolves around you at breakneck speeds and seamlessly splits the first three Beowolves in half. You retract the blade as the third Beowolf falls, retracting the blade back into the scythe without breaking the spiral pattern. The blade clicks back into the weapon as two more leap into the air with their claws outstretched, one behind the other. You roll forward, dodging the first Grimm's claws by a hairline while aiming Wind Reaper's blade at the second one. You launch yourself forward with an air blast, the force of it ripping a hole through the head of the first one while you fly past the second Grimm and decapitate it. Flipping forward just before you land, you drive your weapon into the next Beowolf's snout and kill it instantly.

Claws flashing at the edge of your vision, you lean backward limbo-style as another Beowolf's attack misses you by mere inches. You rip your weapon from your most recent kill and aim another air blast at your current attacker, its other claws already raised for a follow-up attack. Its claws miss you by a heartbeat as you sail through the air away from the immediate danger, the air blast drilling a hole through the unlucky Grimm. You flip backwards in the air once and drive your scythe blade into the ground, bringing you to a sudden stop and allowing you to face the remaining five Beowolves charging you down.

You lift your scythe out of the ground and ready your scythe once more as the Grimm continue their advance, but you don't move until the lead Beowolf is almost on top of you. With only a heartbeat to spare as the first Grimm begins a downward swipe, you blast yourself off to the right and immediately flip your scythe to blast you back in the direction of the remaining five Beowolves, slashing down the middle of the Beowolf behind the first one and landing you right in the middle of them, the last four now positioned in a circle around you. You waste no time in raising Wind Reaper above your head once more and spinning it around again with much more speed than the first time, the weapon's rod visibly blurred from the high speed. Your jacket ripples majestically in the downdraft caused by the scythe's speed, the chain blade's wire ripping through the heads of each of the four remaining Beowolves with extreme velocity, sending the top halves of their heads sailing upward through the canopy of the forest and into the sky, never to be seen again as the last four cannon fodder fall to the floor dead.

You retract Wind Reaper's blade back into itself and allow the weapon to dangle lazily by your side, the bodies of your attackers lying dead in the clearing. Some have already faded into mist, others only lie unmoving in the wake of your devastation. There were holes in the ground from your air blast, and several of the surrounding trees were now lifeless tree stumps thanks to your chain blade, their respective upper halves laying on the ground. The surrounding destruction puts you under the impression of everything being dead from your relentless assault.

"So why do I feel like something's still watching me," you whisper to yourself, your weapon still hanging in your hand, but not longer in a lazy grip. You can feel a faint pressure coming somewhere from the edge of the clearing, though it doesn't carry the same malevolent sense that the Beowolves did. You're unsure of which direction the pressure's coming from for a few seconds. Your gaze then snaps to your right onto a lone bush on top of a slightly-raised hill overlooking the clearing. You bring your weapon across to your left and ready Wind Reaper's chain blade.

"Who's there!?" you shout as you swing the scythe across to your right, whipping the chain blade towards the bush on the hill and slicing the top half of it clean off, missing the heads of Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee by a hairline. They both let out a surprised yelp and press their bodies closer to the ground from fearful instinct, though you still clearly see their startled faces thanks to the light of the shattered moon shining through where the forest canopy used to shield the clearing from any light. Your chain blade retracts back into Wind Reaper as Weiss calls out to you in response to your sudden action.

"Watch where you're swinging that thing, you dunce!"

"Why are you spying on me?" you accuse as they both stand up from their demolished bush, the moonlight revealing a few small dirt stains on both the girls' skirts as they walk down the hill and into the clearing, a fallen tree trunk being the only thing seperating you from them. Weiss's expression changes from surprise to defiance as she crosses her arms in a posh manner while you compact Wind Reaper back into a simple metal rod.

"We wanted to see why you keep sneaking out of Beacon." She points an acusing finger at you as she continues. "To make sure you're not hiding anything." You slide the weapon back into its place on your back inside of your jacket, then cross your own arms in a similar posture to Weiss.

"What do I possibly have-" Your eyes notice an Ursa popping into view behind the girls, and your hand flashes lightning-fast into your jacket and pulls out Wind Reaper. "Look out!" you shout as your weapon begins deploying back into a scythe. Both girls turn around and see the Ursa raise both its arms to smash them with. They jump backwards out of reach of the Ursa's massive paws, and a horrible realization strikes you instantly. _They're unarmed! Where are their weapons?!_

The Ursa raises its paws off the ground and leaps forward while you propel yourself forward with an air blast at the same time. A paw is already stretched behind it to deliver a deadly swipe to the girls, whose backs are now pinned against the massive fallen tree. They both raise their arms and brace their auras to tank the hit, until the Ursa crashes onto the ground in front of them awkwardly. They lower their arms cautiously to see you standing low to the ground next to the now-dead Ursa, a single slash seperating its head and right arm from the rest of its body. You compact Wind Reaper and replace it once again inside your jacket and stand up from your crouched position. Ruby opens her mouth to say something when your head snaps around to look at the two girls, the blazing anger in your eyes silencing the two before they have a chance to say anything.

"Where are your weapons?" Even though you're not screaming at them, the low, threatening tone in your question embeds a similar effect in Weiss's mind, and for a moment she's convinced that you're about to strangle her. Ruby speaks up with a nervous squeak in her voice.

"When we followed you I told Weiss that we forgot our weapons but she said that we didn't need them and we would lose track of you if we turned around and went back to Beacon so we decided not to turn around and get them I'm sorry!" You blink your eyes in surprise and take a few seconds to process Ruby's near-incoherent fast-talk. Once you process what she says after a second, you shake your head in disapproval, but allow the venom in your voice to vanish as you address Weiss.

"So instead of turning around and grabbing your weapons, you thought it was a good idea to follow me... into a Grimm-filled forest... in the middle of the night... unarmed?" you ask her.

"We were being careful," she responds stubbornly, and you flick your hand to the side dismissively.

"That Ursa would've found you anyway."

"It wouldn't have found us. We were staying quiet."

"Yet I still found you."

"You're not a Grimm."

"And you're not getting the point!" you snap, your patience with the heiress finally diminished. "What if a Grimm got the drop on you and I _didn't_ notice, huh?! What would you have done?"

"Then we'd call out to you to help us. We weren't that far behind," she argues. In her mind, she knows that she was wrong to ignore Ruby's warnings, but she is determined to win this argument out of pure stubbornness alone.

"And what if I couldn't help you? What if I _wouldn't_ help you?" you object. Weiss crosses her arms, still stubbornly determined not to lose the argument.

"..." She opens her mouth, but nothing comes out. She can't think of anything to defend herself with, and you immediately notice this as her eyes flit back and forth trying to think of something.

 _Checkmate._

"Exactly," you say as Weiss crosses her arms and looks away in a disdainful, critical way. You turn your gaze to look at Ruby, who stayed silent throughout the whole argument. "So why didn't you turn around and go grab your weapon if you knew that it was the smart thing to do?" Ruby averts her gaze downward, twisting her body back and forth in a guilty manner.

"I... I didn't want to let her follow you alone," she explains, and continues as you raise a questioning eyebrow. "She's my teammate, so I had to help her." Your gaze softens as she elaborates, and you feel your respect for the young team leader rise.

 _She's just being loyal to her teammate._ You allow the tiniest hint of a smirk to sneak onto your face.

When Ruby takes her eyes off her feet and looks at you, she's surprised by how gentle your gaze has become.

"I suppose there's nothing wrong with that..." you say, and both girls look at each other in silent relief, but look back at you as you continue. "But please, promise me you'll never make another stupid decision like that again," you ask with almost a pleading look in your eyes, and Ruby immediately nods her head.

"I promise." You turn your head to look at Weiss, who's silently glancing at the edge of the clearing, purposely avoiding your gaze.

"Weiss?" you prompt. She sighs and responds, still looking at the edge of the clearing.

"I promise," she says grudgingly, and you only sigh and start to walk in the direction of Beacon until Weiss speaks again. "But why are you sneaking out in the middle of the night just to train?" she asks as she leans on her hip and looks at you, but you only continue walking and wave your hand dismissively.

"Force of habit," you say simply. "Now let's head back to Beacon." Ruby follows close behind you as you trek to the edge of the clearing, while Weiss follows a little further behind. Your answer didn't satisfy her at all, instead leaving her with a cryptic impression of you. She shakes her head slightly and walks faster to shrink the gap between you and her.

 _I don't trust him, and neither should Ruby,_ she thinks as she slows down again to walk alongside Ruby. Her earlier argument with you pops back into her head.

 _What if I couldn't help you? What if I_ wouldn't _help you?_ Those words stick like glue in Weiss's mind, constantly repeating like a broken record player, and each time a small voice asks a dark question in the back of her mind.

 _Will he actually let us die if that happens?_

Your response and that question loop over and over in Weiss's mind, reinforcing her earlier mistrusts of you as they continue to walk back to Beacon. This pattern continues for another twenty minutes until the three of you arrive back on campus, Weiss's distrust of you fully revived at this point. No one has said a word since leaving the clearing, a terse silence enchanting your group, and you, Ruby, and Weiss remain silent as you enter the dorm building through the back and climb the stairs to your hallway. No one even utters a 'good night' as Ruby and Weiss watch you unlock your room with your scroll and disappear inside, closing the door behind you without so much as a backward glance at your two peers. It's only until Ruby and Weiss are halfway between your room and their's when Ruby finally breaks the tense silence.

"You know, he's not such a bad guy after all. How 'bout that?" Ruby says, her comment edged with a sense of victory after being proven right about your good intentions. Weiss scoffs in disagreement, much to Ruby's chagrin.

"Do you remember what he said in the forest?" she asks, looking at Ruby with a meaningful stare. Ruby tilts her head to the side in confusion.

"Which part?" Weiss rolls her eyes.

"He said 'What if I _wouldn't_ help you'. Does that not alarm you?" she asks with a serious tone. Ruby sighs and leans forward with her arm on the wall, resting her head on her arm while Weiss pulls out her scroll to unlock their room door.

"Weiss, he was just trying to prove a point."

"Yeah, that he doesn't care what happens to us." She reaches down with her scroll and hovers it in front of a small panel above the doorknob, and the door clicks open after a second.

"Then why'd he kill the Ursa?"

Weiss's hand freezes on the doorknob, Ruby's response short-circuiting her brain momentarily. Ruby stares analytically at her partner, observing Weiss's reaction to Ruby's question and waiting for another snarky response. To her surprise, Weiss opens the door silently and walks into their room, not saying a word as she places her scroll onto the table next to the door. As she slips out of her high-heels and into the comforts of her bed, she thinks back on what Ruby said outside the room.

 _Then why'd he kill the Ursa?_ The question continues to repeat itself in her mind until darkness drags her mind into the abyss of sleep.

* * *

Ozpin watches through the right side of his office's massive window as the three of you walk out of the Forever Fall Forest and disappear out of sight behind the north dormitory. Curiosity burns at the forefront of his mind as he wonders why you three were in the forest so long after curfew. However, judging from the way you all were walking, he assumes that whatever you were doing exhausted you, and decides that it's best to ask you about it after classes dismiss tomorrow. He turns his head after an access request pops up on top of his desk, and he turns to face the trio of elevators on the other side of the room.

"Come in." The center elevator slides open to reveal Glynda standing within, promptly stepping into the room and approaching the headmaster's desk.

"Glynda." The headmaster greets her as she walks across the vast expanse of the room. "What can I help you with at this hour?" Glynda stands off to the side of the desk and crosses her arms, her movements tense from the questions she wants to ask.

"I want to ask you about (Y/N)'s aura," she says, not bothering to beat around the bush. "I know you felt that something about it was off." Ozpin turns his head and casts one final glance at your dorm before returning his gaze to Glynda.

"Yes, I did feel that something wasn't right," he begins while walking over to his desk and sitting down behind it, Glynda repositioning herself in front of the desk. "It was almost like something in his aura didn't... belong," he says after a pause, trying to choose his words carefully. After another moment of thought, he shakes his head. "No, that's not right... it's more like something else exists alongside his aura." Ozpin folds his hands on his desk before continuing. "It felt... familiar, in a sense, but I can't recall where from."

Both Huntsmen remain motionless, their minds abuzz with thought as they try to think of a rational explanation. A cloud passes in front of the shattered moon, darkening the room and adding to the tense feeling existing within the room. Suddenly, Glynda's gaze locks on to Ozpin, who notices the sudden movement out of the corner of his eye despite the reduced lighting.

"(Y/N)'s last name is Reaper, right?" Ozpin nods his head slowly, wondering where Glynda is heading with her question. He starts to figure it out as Glynda continues. "Does that mean he's of the Reaper clan?" He leans back as Glynda confirms his guess.

"You think the extra aura I felt is a Reaper Eidolon?" he guesses, and she nods in confirmation.

"If he's one of the Reapers, it'd make sense that-"

"It's not an Eidolon," Ozpin interjects, cutting off Glynda mid-sentence. "Whether they've been summoned or not, Eidolons always exist as separate entities, and never as aura," he explains. Glynda raises an eyebrow in question, and Ozpin elaborates. "We know this because it's impossible for any person, Reaper or not, to be able to use an Eidolon's abilities themselves. Besides-" Ozpin looks over his left shoulder and stares at the north dormitory. "Only the clan's Godfather can summon the Reaper Eidolons, and I doubt that someone as young as (Y/N) is already the Godfather."

"There have been younger Godfathers," Glynda argues, crossing her arms again. "One Reaper became the Godfather when he was nine years old."

"True," Ozpin agrees, unfolding his hands and resting them on his chair's arm rests. "But that doesn't explain why this extra aura exists inside (Y/N)."

"People have been known to contain massive amounts of aura," Glynda points out. "Perhaps (Y/N) is the same."

"Unfortunately, that's not the case, either." Glynda purses her lips as Ozpin shuts down another theory. "The extra aura I felt is different than (Y/N)'s."

"Are you even sure that what you felt is aura?" Glynda asks, and Ozpin tilts his head to the side in curiosity. "What you're suggesting is that (Y/N) has two... souls..." Glynda trails off as another thought strikes her mind. Unlike the last two theories, however, this one is an unpleasant thought, and she's almost scared to ask it.

"What is it?" Ozpin asks, wondering what made Glynda trail off mid-sentence. Glynda remains silent as she ponders whether or not she should say it, knowing how Ozpin might respond to it. After a few painfully-long seconds, she sighs loudly, her mind made up.

"Is Cadence involved?"

It's only once a blue moon that Glynda sees Ozpin lose his composure, and she instantly regrets saying anything as Ozpin's usually-neutral expression changes to one of worry.

 _Is that even possible?_ Ozpin was in denial as his mind backpedals to when he unlocked your aura, his brain power completely focused on finding anything in that moment that could prove Glynda wrong, but the more he thinks about it, the more that Glynda's theory makes sense.

"If that's true..." His voice remains neutral, but it's still lined with a hint of tension. "Then we must monitor (Y/N) closely. Watch for anything unusual about him." Glynda was about to object, but Ozpin held up a hand to silence her. "If Cadence has in fact chosen (Y/N) for his next transition, then we have an opportunity to stop him once and for all." His words send a chill down Glynda's spine.

"Are you saying we need to execute the boy?" To her relief, Ozpin shakes his head.

"Let's hope that it never comes to that," he says, eyes narrowed in concentration. "If we observe (Y/N) close enough, we may discover a way to eliminate Cadence before he can transition into (Y/N)'s body."

"And if we can't?" The question is out before Glynda can stop herself. Ozpin closes his eyes briefly before turning a blank gaze on her.

"If we can't stop him before the transition is complete...

...

...

...

"then we may have to kill them both."


	3. Chapter 2: Day One

It feels wrong to not be wearing your regular clothes, and it feels especially wrong to leave your jacket anywhere that wasn't on your shoulders. Trying to adhere to the academy's dress code, you're wearing a black suit and dress pants, a blue vest, a white shirt, and a red tie, with Wind Reaper compacted into a metal rod on your back. However, the uniform is half a size too small, and it's also not as flexible as your regular outfit, making you feel like you're suffocating and can't move as freely as you're used to.

"Do I have to wear this?" you mutter to yourself as you step out of your dorm room dressed in the uniform that Ozpin provided you a few days ago, tugging at the red tie around your neck. "Fucking neck trap," you curse in agitation at the suffocating feeling of the tie, tugging on it even harder to try and loosen it a little bit.

"What foul language." A familiar voice sounds behind you, and you turn on your heel to see Pyrrha and the rest of her team behind you, all dressed in similar uniforms. You roll your eyes at her quip, and she only shrugs. "Anyway, I want you to meet the rest of my team."

Your gaze turns onto the three people behind her- a guy with blonde hair and blue eyes, another guy with black hair and pink eyes, and a girl with short orange hair and green eyes- who all introduce themselves in turn.

"Jaune Arc."

"Lie Ren."

"Nora Valkyrie."

"(Y/N) Reaper." You introduce yourself with a curt nod of your head.

"So, which class are you going to first?" Pyrrha regains your attention, and you pull out your scroll from your pocket and pull up the schedule listed.

"Err... First Year Grimm Studies," you respond after taking a moment to find the first class on the schedule.

"Us too." Pyrrha was about to say something else, but Jaune spoke first.

"Wanna tag along with us?" he suggests. You were about to decline due to being a social introvert, until you remember that you still barely know your way around the academy, only knowing where the north dormitory, cafeteria, and weapon forge are. You nod your head and step aside to allow them to take the lead as they head toward the stairs leading down to the first floor, falling in step next to Jaune and Ren but not saying a word. You grunt once more in agitation as the suffocating feeling returns, and you tug on the tie again to rid yourself of the irritable pressure.

"Are you okay?" Jaune asks as you continue tugging on the tie. You huff as the choking feeling recedes from your neck.

"Why do we wear these?" you respond without looking at him. "Feels like someone's strangling me."

"Why not just loosen the tie?" he suggests.

"This is as loose as it gets without falling off," you explain, pulling out your schedule as your group walks through the door leading to the stairwell. _Combat Training after Grimm Studies? They expect us to fight in these death traps?_ you think in disbelief as you holster the scroll back in your pocket as your group walks down the stairs to the bottom-most level.

You finish descending the last flight of stairs when a sharp headache starts plowing through your head. Every thought in your mind disintegrates as you fall to one knee in excruciating pain, gripping the end of the railing to brace yourself against the painful mental onslaught.

 _Not again!_

Ren's the first to react.

"Are you alright?" Everyone else is standing around you as Ren kneels down next to you and tries to put a hand on your shoulder, but you hold up your other hand to stop him in a silent and stubborn denial of help. Your breathing is labored, and it's taking every ounce of your self control not to scream out in pain. The skull-splitting headache doesn't go away until another painfully-long ten seconds pass by, and your breathing starts to calm down once the pain subsides. You wait a few more seconds before standing up slowly but steadily, returning to your neutral expression as you gaze around the concerned group of people.

"Are you okay?" Someone calls out to your group from above you before anyone can say anything, and you tilt your head back to see Ruby leaning over the edge a few steps up, concern edging her look, with the rest of her team behind her. You wave your hand at her dismissively.

"I'm fine," you say nonchalantly as Team RWBY descends off the stairway.

"What happened?" Nora asks.

"It was just another headache. Nothing to cry over," you respond, trying to dismiss the situation.

" _Another_ headache? How often does that happen?" Ruby asks, and you look over at her.

"I'm fine. This doesn't happen often," you insist, becoming uncomfortable with the sudden attention. It's also at that moment you realize that everyone standing there is taller than you, the only exceptions being Ruby and Weiss, so the sudden attention also made you feel a little small in the middle of the crowd. Thankfully for you, Pyrrha steps in with a save.

"Well, if you're fine now, then we should probably get to class. We'll be late if we don't," she says, turning toward the door. Everyone else slowly does the same, casting a final concerned glance back at you before following her through the door. The last ones to go through the door are you and Ruby, who goes through the door before you, but slows her pace so that she's walking next to you after a few seconds. You glance over at her as she falls in step with you as the two of you follow the other two teams out the north dormitory's exit.

"Ruby, I'm fine," you say, thinking that she's about to ask about the headache again, but she shakes her head.

"Can I ask you about something?"

"What's that?" you respond, wondering what she's thinking about now.

"Where did you learn how to fight?" she asks, and you think on it for a moment.

"Before I came to Beacon, I had to fend for myself. If you couldn't fight, you couldn't survive," you say, discretely dodging her question, and she nods her head slowly as she processes the information. She assumes that you taught yourself how to fight, but that's not the truth. You don't want anyone to know about who taught you, and fortunately for you, Ruby doesn't catch on to that and doesn't pursue the topic further, instead switching to another question.

"So who do you want to fight in Professor Goodwitch's class?"

"What class does she teach?"

"Combat Training." It's at that moment that your tie begins to annoy you again, and you tug on it to allow some more breathing room and an emphasis to your response.

"Not in this stupid thing," you reply as soon as the bothersome tension leaves your neck.

"We usually stop by our dorm rooms to change before her class," she says, and you let out a sigh of relief.

"That's a relief."

"So, who would you fight?" Ruby asks, returning to her earlier question. You let your gaze travel upward as you think of an answer.

"Uhh... I don't know. I haven't seen how everyone else fights," you say after a few moments of thought. "Besides, from what I heard in the cafeteria, only a few matches happen each day. Why would I be chosen if it's my first class?" you ask as your group walks into the main building of the academy.

"Because you're the new guy," she says, and you raise an eyebrow at her. "You've kinda been the talk of the crowd the past few days. I wouldn't be surprised if you're the first match of the day," she explains, and you grunt at her words.

"I doubt it."

You all follow Pyrrha through a door to what you assume is the Grimm Studies classroom. Team JNPR sits in a row near the back while Team RWBY sits a little closer to the front of the room. Having a 'follow the crowd' mindset, you sit down next to Ruby.

"So, what kind of class is Grimm Studies?" you ask. Ruby shrugs.

"It's supposed to be a detailed study of each type of Grimm, but Professor Port always ends up going into one of his stories after twenty-or-so minutes." She rolls her eyes in an annoyed fashion. "He keeps going on and on and on with those stories, and we're stuck here for three hours!" she exclaims dramatically.

"Oh, please." Weiss shoots Ruby an annoyed look. "They're hardly boring at all. I find them rather enjoyable to listen to."

"Said no one ever," Yang jokes, earning a snicker from Ruby and a scoff from Weiss.

The door swings open to reveal Professor Port strolling into class in a mighty fashion. "Take your seats, young Huntsmen-in-training!" His voice booms throughout the room as he stands in front of a row of multiple detailed Grimm diagrams at the front of the class, with one diagram above them covered up by an additional piece of parchment.

 _Well, he sure loves a big entrance._

"The creatures of Grimm are indeed many-" he begins, starting to pace back and forth across the front of the classroom, "and indeed powerful. However, despite that there are many different Grimm with many different abilities, they all possess one common weakness!" He holds up one finger to emphasize his point. "They cannot possess a soul." This catches your attention, and your posture straightens up more in curiosity.

 _Grimm don't have souls?_

"There is one main reason for this," Port continues, beginning to pace back and forth again. "Grimm are the physical embodiment of death and negativity, rendering them unable to bear purpose to anything else." He stops and, facing the class, sweeps a hand across the entire room, gesturing to the class. "This explanation is a good theory, but can anyone tell me what evidence provides proof of this explanation?"

Weiss, Pyrrha, and three other students you don't know raise their hands. Port waits a few moments before calling on one. "Young miss Schnee!"

"It's because the Grimm are born without an aura," she answers, satisfaction beaming from her in waves.

"Precisely." Port nods his head in approval. "In order for any living entity to be born with an aura, it must be born with a soul. Thus, Grimm are born without an aura because they are born without a soul," he concludes.

You avert your gaze downward, gazing at the counter stretching across your entire row as your mind processes the new information. _If Grimm can't have souls, then how can they still exist?_

"Questions?" The Huntsman oscillates his gaze around the room to look at each student in turn, and you hold up one finger to gain his attention as his head turns near you.

"Hmm... mister Reaper, is it?" Weiss had brought in a bottle of water from her team's dorm and is drinking from it when the professor calls on you.

 _Reaper?!_ The water starts to go down the wrong pipe, and she coughs for a few seconds. No one takes any notice.

"Yes sir," you confirm, and the Professor nods at you, his posture still mighty and imperious.

"What is your question?" You fold your hands on the counter and lean forward slightly.

"How can the Grimm exist if they have no soul?" Port takes a second to process the question, nodding his head slowly as he formulates a proper answer.

"A good question indeed." His tone changes from loud and mighty to a normal volume by your standards, changing the atmosphere of the classroom completely. "Grimm exist much in the same way as nature does- plants and trees have no soul, and yet they still exist in multitude and variety. The Grimm are no different in this aspect." You straighten your posture as he says this, keeping your hands folded on the counter. "However, remember this- if nature is the embodiment of life... then the Grimm are the embodiment of death."

He holds up one finger in gesture as he continues, returning to his more boisterous voice. "The nature of life is nature itself!" He pauses for several moments, his voice returning to the low, tense vibe from earlier when he continues. "But the nature of death is the Grimm." He leans forward slightly and stares dead at you. "One would be foolish to forget this simple truth."

His insinuation was clear to you- underestimate the Grimm, and you die- but you already know this. Instead, another question interjects itself into your mind.

"May I ask another question?" you ask, and Port's eyebrows lower slightly in guarded curiosity.

"Proceed..." You lean forward again, your neutral gaze stemming with sordid intensity.

"You said that nature is the embodiment of life, yet for some nature to live, they must live as parasites, leeching and stealing the life of the nature around them." You bring one hand off of the counter and turn your palm toward the ceiling in gesture. "If the Grimm do exist in parallel to nature, then surely this relationship must exist among the Grimm as well?"

No one will admit it, but the question catches everyone present in the room off guard, including Weiss.

 _I've never thought of it that way before..._ She looks across Ruby at you with a new admiration in her eyes. _He's pretty smart._

Port brings his hand up to his chin and slowly strokes his beard in thought, secretly appreciating the depth of the question.

"Perceptive. Very good," he compliments. "There is one parasitic Grimm species that exists within the various populations of the deathly creature, and is actually the Grimm that I originally wanted to discuss today. Unfortunately, this parasite does not affect the Grimm..." He pauses for dramatic effect, drawing the classroom's attention further into the subject.

"It affects humanity." The class looks around at each other in confusion, no one familiar with the Grimm in question. Professor Port reaches his hand up behind him toward the parchment covering the mystery Grimm's diagram and yanks it downward, revealing a Grimm resembling the appearance of a ghost.

"This-" he gestures to the new Grimm, allowing the parchment to fall onto the floor- "is a Geist." Everyone in the room leans forward slightly, inspecting the depiction of the Geist's diagram with a solemn concentration. "Make no mistake-" Port continues- "this Grimm may inherit the appearance of a ghost, but it is undoubtedly one of, if not the most, powerful Grimm to ever exist, for one reason, and one reason alone..." He pauses for dramatic effect, switching to his louder voice.

"I told you that nature embodies life and the Grimm embody death, and that they exist in parallel. If that is true, then humanity would be the embodiment of creation. It is an aspect of the world beyond the capabilities and control of nature, and an extremely powerful weapon against the Grimm." He raises his arm in front of him and closes his hand in a fist. "It is the creations of humanity that enable us to suppress the relentless onslaught of the Grimm." He puts his arms behind him and stands in a professional posture, his voice switching tones once more.

"However, it is also the creations of humanity that makes the Geist so incredibly dangerous in the first place." He turns around the stares directly at the diagram of the Geist. "Geists have the uncanny ability to possess anything they come into contact to, and turn even the most harmless things into weapons meant to kill." He turns around and faces the class once more.

"Imagine, if you will, a team of Huntsmen against a wave of Grimm, their weapons ceaselessly destroying any Grimm that get too close. Their team's leader, clad in a special protective body armor and wielding a mighty Excalibur of a weapon, leading the charge heroically against the Grimm and pushing them back."

In Ruby's mind, it's her team in that battle, following her in the charge against the Grimm. She's mercilessly cutting down any Grimm that get too close, wielding Crimson Rose with godly mastery, and clad in mythical armor from the ancient clans of Remnant. In her mind, she seemed invincible.

"Then a Geist possesses their leader's armor. The team of Huntsmen are no longer fending off attacks from the Grimm, but are now forced to fend off attacks from their own leader. Afraid to hurt their team leader and long-time friend, all they can do is block his attacks as the Geist uses the leader's armor to give it perfect control of the leader's actions and weapon. Despite the powerful strength of the leader, all he is able to do is watch as his friends are overpowered by the Grimm and slain by the weapon he swore to protect the innocent with, a slave to the Geist controlling his armor until the end of his life."

As Professor Port describes the terrible plot twist, Ruby shuts down the mental battle immediately, unable to bear the thought of attacking her own teammates. You take one look at her, and her face says it all. She envisioned herself and her team in Port's scenario. Ruby's mind blocks out any attempt to try and understand what happens next, but your mind's eye sees it clear as day- her friends overrun by their leader and the Grimm, her weapon ending their lives, her body and soul now a prisoner to the Geist controlling the armor.

A dreadful atmosphere descends upon the room as the students finally grasp the true terror of the Geist's power. Port slowly looks around the room, observing their reactions before continuing.

"The scenario that I just described to you is in fact a true story," he says solemnly. Everyone in the room around you turns their gazes onto the Huntsman, their eyes glittering with a hint of fear. "That is how the true power of the Geist was realized, and how the Geist earned its dreadful name seventy years ago." You raise your gaze to rest upon the Grimm in question, the creature's diagram resting above the other Grimm's as a testament to a superior power... and a terrible truth. Port turns his gaze back onto the classroom.

"But that is only half of the Geist's power."

Your gaze snaps back onto the Huntsman in surprise. _There's more?_

"The story continues a few days later, where the Geist, still possessing the Huntsman's armor, attacks another team of Huntsman on its own. The Huntsmen fight back, but it's no small effort. The Geist puts up a good fight, making excellent use of the Huntsman's weapon, armor, and Semblance. In the end, the Huntsman under the Geist's control ends up dead, and the Geist escapes, rumored to still be alive to this very day."

The room is mostly silent, save for the occasional whisper, for several torturing moments, until Blake breaks the silence.

"The Geist was able to control the Huntsman's Semblance?" Port's only reply is a silent nod of affirmation. Someone calls out from the back of the room.

"Then how are we supposed to beat it?"

"Fret not, for you can kill a Geist just like any other Grimm- hit it enough times, and it'll die," Port says, returning to his loud voice. "However, under no circumstances must you allow one to get close to you." Port clenches his fist in front of him again in gesture. "The Huntsman that was controlled by the Geist didn't die in battle. He was rushed to Vale Hospital, his aura depleted. However, his wounds wouldn't heal, no matter how long they tried to delay for his aura to come back." Port shakes his head slowly, as if he himself had been there. "His aura never came back. In fact, it was discovered that his aura was gone, and the Huntsman had been reduced to a body without a soul."

"So, you're saying that a Geist can steal a person's aura?" you say without hesitation. Port looks dead at you and nods his head.

"That is why you should never let one get close to you," Port turns around and looks up at the poster of the Geist. "I remember the time where I once had a close call with one of those Grimm Reapers..."

"Guh..." Ruby groans. "Here he goes with his stories again..." You don't hear her. Your mind is busy dissecting the new stream of information about the Geist, blocking out any other noise you hear as background noise.

Weiss's mind is in a similar state, but her thoughts aren't preoccupied with the ghostly Grimm.

 _Professor Port said his last name was Reaper... as in,_ the _Reapers?_ Her mind is buzzing with a stream of various questions and theories she wants to ask about you, but she's drawn back to the present when Ruby taps her shoulder.

"Weiss, did you just... space out?" Weiss looks at her team leader to see her eyes brimming with amusement, and she rolls her eyes disdainfully. She wants to say a scolding remark, but her thoughts are still on your name.

"Did you hear what Professor Port called (Y/N)?" she asks quietly. This catches Ruby off guard, who was expecting her to say something about being a pest.

"Yeah, he said 'mister Reaper'..." Ruby's face suddenly strains to stop herself from laughing at her friend. "Weiss, don't tell me you think (Y/N) is secretly a Geist!"

"No, you dunce!" she says, a little loudly. She looks at Port at the front of the classroom, worried she'd spoken too loudly, but the professor is too absorbed in telling his story to notice. Weiss returns her gaze back onto Ruby, her icy eyes serious. "Do you know about the Reaper clan?"

"Mmm..." Ruby hums quietly in thought. "Nope."

"What!?" Weiss says in disbelief. "How could you not know about the Reaper clan!?" She unknowingly raises her voice slightly again, and this time, Professor Port notices, and he turns around to see the two girls talking to each other instead of listening to his story.

"You two," he says, startling the two students.

"Uhh... yes, sir?" Weiss says nervously, secretly furious that she just got in trouble, the first time since the school year started. Ruby says nothing, her eyes reflecting the same nervousness in Weiss's eyes. You simply look on in guarded curiosity, your thoughts returning to the present, on what Ruby and Weiss just did to get into trouble, and also on the neck tie giving you another suffocation.

"What are you two talking about that is apparently more important than paying attention in my class?" he accuses, surprised that Weiss Schnee, who usually takes great interest in his stories, is talking during his story about something else.

"N-Nothing..." Weiss mutters shamefully, keeping her gaze lowered onto the counter in front of her. Professor Port looks down at her one second longer before scoffing disappointingly.

"Then it'd be in both of your best interests to see me after class," he states. Ruby and Weiss both groan in response, mentally dreading whatever extra homework was in store for them after class ends.

* * *

Ruby never thought that she would ever dread hearing a dismissal bell. She's sitting behind the counter watching a holo-clock slowly tick every second as 11:00 draws near. Five minutes turn into two minutes, two minutes turn into thirty seconds, thirty seconds turn into five seconds... four... three...

"The nightmarish creature made one last attempt..."

Two...

"... to rush me down and claim my aura..."

One...

"... so I raised my weapon and-" Port stops mid-sentence as the bell signals the end of class, dismissing everyone to lunch. "Unfortunately, it seems that you'll have to wait until next time to hear the stunning conclusion to the story. Miss Rose, miss Schnee," Port says, freezing Ruby and Weiss in their tracks before they can sneak off behind their teammates. "If you would be so kind as to remain seated." Blake and Yang continue past their friends as they slowly sink back down into their seats.

"Good luck," Yang says teasingly, and Ruby looks up at her older sister and pouts. Yang draws Ruby's hood over her head in response and walks off, Blake only giving them a quick glance before walking off. You wait a few moments longer for everyone else to leave the class, silently opting to go to lunch on your own. You stand up as the last group of students nears the room's exit, starting to walk out of the row as Port stands in front of the two students.

"Now then, what were you two discussing during class?" Weiss averts her gaze away from the professor's, while Ruby just looks at Weiss accusingly.

 _I was barely even talking at all!_

When neither one says anything after a few seconds, Port crosses his arms. "I'm waiting for an answer, young ladies."

"N-Nothing..." Weiss stutters, and one of Port's eyebrows lift.

"It certainly wasn't 'nothing', child. I'll ask again, what were you two talking about?" he orders. You step out of the row you were previously sitting in and cast a quick glance back at Ruby and Weiss before walking to the exit at the front of the classroom. Weiss shifts uncomfortably in-place before responding.

"It... It was about the Reaper clan," she says, and you freeze in place, standing a breath away from the threshold of the door. You turn your head around slowly and stare at Weiss, no one realizing that you were still in the classroom.

 _Reaper clan? What is she talking about?_ You stand still at the door, observing the developement unfolding in front of you. Port quietly sighs and stands with his arms behind his back.

"What about it?" he questions, though he has a fairly good guess as to where Weiss's train of thought is going. His voice loses the accusing tension, and Weiss looks back up at the professor in stubborn curiosity.

"Is (Y/N) one of them?" she asks, the nervousness fading from her voice like morning dew. You start to slowly walk away from the door and towards the group in question as Port brings one hand up to his face and strokes his beard.

"Not many people know about the Reapers..." he says, more to himself than anyone else. "What do you two know about them?" He looks at Ruby first, and she shifts uncomfortably in place, more out of confusion than anything else.

"Well, um... I... I've never heard of them until now," she says eventually, and Port turns to Weiss with an eyebrow raised.

"I only know what my father told me," she says, all evidence of sheepish guilt vanishing from her.

"And what did your father tell you?" Port prompts, forgetting about the essay he was going to assign them as punishment. No one notices the taciturn figure silently standing a few feet away from them, listening in on the conversation with an enticed curiosity as Weiss tries to summarize everything her father told her.

"Well, they used to be an incredibly powerful group of people in Mistral. My father said that the clan's existed for almost six hundred years," she says with a certain fascination evident in her voice. At this point, her mind is racing with different stories and information. "They even had the power to summon powerful demigods with the strength of a hundred Huntsmen!" Weiss realizes that she's getting a little too excited about the topic, and clears her throat to calm down before continuing.

"During the Great War, they had fought in service of Mistral and Mantle in their campaign against Vale and Vacuo. My father said that the Reapers were unstoppable in every battle, the summoned demigods destroying everything in their path." Weiss's eyes suddenly grow very stoic, her body losing the tangible sense of fascination as she continues. "But they disappeared from a battle halfway through the war, and no one's heard from them since."

Weiss looks up at the professor, wondering if she told the entire story correctly or not. Port hums softly to himself as he digests Weiss's story, secretly impressed that she didn't get any of the information wrong, except for one thing...

"All of that is true, except for one detail..." Weiss looks back up at the Huntsman, pondering on which detail she could've gotten wrong as Port continues. "They didn't disappear. They were all killed in battle."

"What?" Weiss yells in disbelief, completely forgetting her manners. "But they were unstoppable!" She looks at Port wide-eyed, then over at Ruby, who only sits there in silent curiosity, observing and absorbing every detail of the story. Port switches his gaze between Ruby and Weiss as he relays the corrected detail to them, watching them jump in their seats, startled as a new voice interjects itself into the impromptu history lesson.

"So what happened to them?" Ruby and Weiss's heads snap in your direction, unaware that you'd been standing there for the entire story, while Port looks at you more calmly than them, keeping his composure as he sighs.

"I suppose you were standing there the whole time?" You nod silently in response. Port measures you carefully through his eyes, even though they're hidden behind his eyebrows, and shrugs. "Drunk with absolute power, the Reapers thought that, with the help of the Reaper Eidolons, they could deliver a crippling blow to Vale's forces by assassinating their king." Port shakes his head slowly from side to side. "He destroyed every Eidolon they threw at him and cut them down like wet tissue paper. No one survived the encounter against Vale's mighty warrior king."

"But someone had to have survived!" Weiss argues, shaking her head then gesturing at you with an open hand. "How else would (Y/N) be here?" You look at her in confusion, one eye closing halfway in a questioning way before shaking your head.

"I'm not one of them." Weiss turns her head and gazes at you as if you'd just grown an extra head.

"What? But... you're name is Reaper! How can you say you're not one of them?"

"Weiss, that's just a coincidence," you say, denying her theory that you're a descendant of this mysterious clan.

"How can you just deny your heritage?" she accuses, glaring at you in half disbelief and half anger, and you return that exact same glare at her.

"Because it's not my heritage to begin with!" When she opens her mouth to further protest, you shut her down before she can make a sound. "Professor Port said that no one survived the attack on Vale's king! How can I be descended from a clan of dead people?"

Not giving anyone else a chance to argue, you spin around and walk angrily out of the room, frustration radiating from you in tidal waves. _They're wrong._ _I come from nothing._ You allow a medley of similar thoughts to play an endless tune in your mind as you walk more calmly in the direction of the cafeteria, trying not to draw any unnecessary attention to yourself. Your eye starts to twitch as a familiar presence intrudes on your senses, staying slightly behind you but keeping pace as you reach the exit of the building.

"Forget it, Ruby," you warn as you push through the doors leading to the outside campus grounds.

"Why did you get so mad in there?" There was no disdain or accusation in her voice, instead a mix of genuine concern and curiosity set in both her voice and her features, and you stop to turn and face her. "If you are one-"

"But I'm not," you insist, lightly shaking your head without breaking eye contact with Ruby. "You heard the professor- they all died. The only resemblance I bear is the name. Nothing else," you say as you start to turn around in the direction of the cafeteria, but you stop when Ruby speaks up again.

"But what if some of the Reapers stayed behind? If some of them never went to battle at all, the clan would still be around," she theorizes. While you secretly admit it's a good theory, you're still convinced that its not true, and you look over your shoulder at the reaper.

"Ruby, I think I would've noticed if I could summon all-powerful creatures that were the equivalent of gods," you say as you start walking again, but this time the anger is no longer present in your movement, deliberately moving slower in case Ruby wants to continue talking. She starts walking next to you, matching your pace as she continues trying to persuade you.

"But what if you _didn't_ notice?" she insists, the tiniest hint of a smirk on her face. If it were anyone else, you would've snapped at them already, but there is something about Ruby that seems to defuse your anger completely, and you end up chuckling slightly before responding.

"Why do you keep insisting that I'm one of the Reapers?" you ask, trying to turn the conversation back around on her. She turns her upper body to face you and then leans to the side slightly, striking a cutesy pose.

"Why do you keep denying it?" she says, keeping the topic pinned on you. You allow your head to droop and let out a loud sigh, but before you can think of a snarky response, Ruby leans back and throws her arms up in the air in an exaggerated fashion. "Seriously, how awesome would it be to be able to do what the Reapers were able to do?!"

"Because that's wishful thinking, and I don't do wishful thinking," you reply as you fix her with a sideways stare, your stolid visage masking the sense of amusement slowly rising within you. Even though you're arguing, you can't help but enjoy the conversation for some reason. Your walking speeds up to a normal speed for you as you walk next to the side of the cafeteria toward the entrance, and Ruby mimics the variation, but what's normal speed for you translates to fast-walking for her.

"Sheesh, slow down! We've got an hour and a half to eat lunch before Professor Goodwitch's class." You look over at her and shrug unapologetically, but you do slow down a little.

"Those ninety minutes will be gone before you know it," you warn casually, rounding the corner of the cafeteria and slowing down more as you draw within a few feet of the door. Grasping the handle, you step into the cafeteria and immediately see Team JNPR and Team RWBY, including Weiss, situated at a spot close to the door.

 _How did Weiss get here before us?_ You don't ask the question out loud as you grab a tray of food and eye an isolated spot on the other side of the room.

Ruby grabs her own tray and notices you starting to move to the other side of the room, and the words are out before she can stop herself. "Come sit with us."

You stop walking and turn around to face her, and Ruby immediately regrets blurting out those words as her face developes a mild blush, but its more of an embarrassed blush instead of a romantic blush. You don't take any notice of her heated features, but you do allow your mind to dwell on her offer momentarily, mentally debating if you should sit by yourself, like you want to, or sit down with the other two teams. After a split-second, you shrug your shoulders and grunt in acknowledgement. Ruby turns around a little quickly to hide her persisting embarrassment as she walks over to where her friends are seated. Jaune's the first to notice you and Ruby, and waves to you both in greeting.

"Hey guys!" he says cheerfully as you and Ruby sit down next to her teammates.

"Hey Jaune!" Ruby responds in the same tone, her embarrassment having already diminished, while you opt to be silent, though your presence isn't unnoticed among your peers.

"You usually don't sit with us," Pyrrha points out, addressing you discreetly, and you don't look up from your lunch as you answer her.

"She asked me to sit here," you deadpan, gesturing with a slight tilt of your head to Ruby, and it takes all of her will power to keep a poker face, respond normally, and suppress an embarrassed blush as everyone else's gazes turn to her, some curious, some _very_ curious.

"What?" she says defensively, trying to pass off her sudden statement from earlier as nonchalant. Most of everyone else assumes that Ruby's just being Ruby, and drop the subject from their minds, while Blake and Yang allow their gazes to linger on her a little bit longer. Blake, still holding her suspicions of you from yesterday, feels a sense of apprehension brooding in her gut, while Yang's thoughts turn into the mindset of an overly suspicious older sister. An awkward silence falls over your entire group, until Jaune turns his gaze back onto you.

"So who are you going to fight today?" he asks, and you swallow the piece of apple in your mouth a bit too hastily, and the tie around your neck starts feeling like its choking you again, and you start coughing to rid yourself of the strangling feeling.

"Why is everyone asking that?" you comment once you regain control of your breathing. "I may not even get to fight today."

"Well..." Ruby starts, rolling her eyes in exaggeration. "I don't know if you've noticed, but you're the only thing people are talking about right now."

"I'm curious to see his weapon," Jaune adds, eyeing the compacted weapon resting on the small of your back.

When she says this, you look around the cafeteria at the other groups of students scattered around the four long tables stretching along the length of the room, and sure enough, a decent amount of people were looking in your direction and conversing with the people around them, some averting their eyes when your gaze lands on their group. _Crap._

"So, it's a question of 'Who's going to get to fight me first?' rather than 'Who do I want to fight first?'," you observe, suddenly more aware of the attention everyone's pitching onto you.

"Basically," Weiss confirms with no sympathy evident in her tone. You hang your head and sigh while slowly shaking your head in irritation.

"Great," you grit sarcastically. "Something to look forward to."

* * *

The coliseum is surprisingly quiet as you walk into the massive room, having already stopped by your dorm and changed back into your regular outfit. Ren was kind enough to point out the coliseum on your way back to your dorm rooms, so you simply retraced your steps until you made it back to the coliseum, and since you didn't want to wait for the other two teams, you arrived alone.

You pat your hand on the small of your back, feeling a horizontal bump on your jacket from where it conceals Wind Reaper from any prying eyes. Since you forgot to work on your knife skills when you traversed into the Forever Fall Forest, you feel that you need to work on those as soon as possible, so you also brought a pair of daggers that you made in the forge while your scythe was still in progress. Each dagger has a slight recurve along the entirety of the blade and a handguard connected to both ends of the handle. While Wind Reaper is only noticeable because of the small rise on the back of your jacket, the handles of your daggers are easily visible from the front of the jacket, the blades holstered in twin sheathes hidden in the jacket's sides.

You spot an isolated spot in the back row of the stands, but as you casually stroll over there, everyone already present in the room turns their head and casts an interested, persistent gaze at you, their collective visage comprising of pure curiosity and serving to add a strange and awkward tension into the room that you aren't comfortable with as you take your seat. Only a few gazes waver away from you by the time Teams RWBY and JNPR arrive in their regular outfits, Ruby in the lead. She instantly spots you and starts down the same row as you towards where their regular spot is, which is coincidentally next to where you're sitting. Ruby plops down in her usual spot about two feet from where you're sitting, the rest of her team eyeing you as they take places next to her, while Team JNPR takes up a spot right in front of them in the next row.

"Alright everyone, in your seats." Glynda's voice projects out into the room, but it's not a booming voice like Port's, but it still resonates with authority. Anyone who wasn't seated before sits down where they're standing, everyone else switching their attention off of you and onto the Huntress addressing them, who pulls out a scroll the size of a clipboard.

"Let's not waste time," she says as she fiddles with some controls on the scrollboard, turning her attention to Nora a few seconds later. "Miss Valkyrie, you're up first." A short, evil giggle lets everyone in the room know that she's perfectly fine with this as Glynda continues. "Choose your opponent." Unknown to you, but known to everyone else, the first person selected to fight in each class gets to choose their opponent, and Nora decides to capitalize on that as she strikes a stereotypical thinking pose and hums out loud, trying to add an element of suspense to the process.

You lean in slightly towards Ruby. "I thought the teacher decides the matchup, right?" you ask without averting your gaze from the hammer wielder.

"Not for the first match," Ruby responds quietly, also opting to keep her gaze on Nora as she continues humming suspensefully.

Suddenly, Nora turns around and points a finger at you while simultaneously pumping her fist dramatically. "I wanna fight the new guy!" Once again, all gazes in the room turn to you as Nora announces her decision, and Ruby leans over slightly towards you, a knowing grin on her face.

"Told you so," she says in a snarky fashion, referring to her earlier statement in Professor Port's class and earning an exasperated sigh from you.

"So you did," you deadpan as you stand up.

Nora grunts in malicious satisfaction and immediately springs from her spot amongst her teammates, landing squarely in the middle of the large arena pit situated in front of the spectator gallery in a grand display of acrobatics and deploying her hammer, which was compacted into a grenade launcher on her back. Spotting a small flight of stairs running from the stands into the arena, you start more calmly and patiently out of your row, down the stands, down the stairs and into the middle of the arena, stopping about ten feet from where Nora's standing. A holodisplay appears over the arena as soon as you walk into position, displaying both your's and Nora's aura percentages with your respective names and images next to each gauge. You look at Glynda with a questioning look on your face.

"So how does this work?" you query, referring to the rules of the match.

"Simple: you fight until one of your auras drops past that bar and into the red zone," she explains, gesturing to a white bar on your aura gauge placed at about fifteen percent.

At this, Nora shifts into a combat stance, her arms tensing threateningly with Magnhild and her face gaining a determined smirk. You take a moment to observe her stance before rolling your shoulders in apprehension, your right hand coming to rest on its respective dagger's handle. _I'll use my knives until I know how she fights._

"On my signal," Glynda announces, preparing to start the fight. You block out anything other than yourself, the arena, and Nora, and your mind immediately shoots into light speed, noting her stance, how she holds her hammer, any information that you could glean from her in that moment. As you do, your teacher's voice interjects into your head, her voice providing the same instructions that you've allowed it to repeat every time you fight another person.

 _Fighting Grimm is one thing, but fighting another person is a completely different reality in itself._

"Three..." Nora leans forward slightly in anticipation as Glynda starts counting down.

 _The Grimm don't strategize; people will strategize, but they also have their weaknesses. Play on the defensive, discover all of their weaknesses, then punish them for it._

"Two..." You lower your stance and steel yourself for the upcoming combat, your hand gripping the handle of one of the twin daggers.

 _People also have their strengths. Discover them, and turn your opponent's strength into their worst nightmare._ _Then, surpass that, and_ become _their worst nightmare. Take everything that was special about them and make them regret ever having that strength._

"One..." Your hand tenses slightly, the bare movement just enough to pop the dagger out of its holster slightly and showcase a sliver of the blade's metal.

 _They also have their habits, those things they can't help doing in battle; one of the worst ones is looking where you're attacking. Even with experienced fighters, nine times out of ten, they're going to look where they're going to strike next, and it's a beautiful habit to capitalize on._ _Oh, and one more thing?_

 _"_ Begin!"

 _Never hold back!_

A tiny smirk betrays your confidence as Nora blasts her hammer behind her, propelling her into the air to try and smash you into the ground. You stay completely still until the last possible moment to dart forward in the direction she launched from, unsheathing both daggers with blinding speed and positioning them above your head to form an 'X' with the blades without stopping your forward motion as Nora's hammer smashes the ground, missing your head by a hairline as it craters the spot where you were standing a split-second ago. Unfortunately, this lines her stomach up with your knives perfectly, and there is no time for her to react or even process the move as you slice the blades outward, collapsing the 'X' around her stomach as you continue to sail under her. It all happens so fast, anyone who blinks misses the exchange.

As soon as you're no longer underneath her, you plant a foot on the ground and cartwheel so that you're turning back around to Nora. The hyper hammerer in question hits the ground, surprised. It only lasts a moment as she rises to one knee, stands up, and pivots around her foot so that she's facing you once again, a determined smirk plastering itself to her face.

 _Good. He ain't a pushover._

You allow your posture to relax and your daggers to hang by your sides, a stoic, neutral visage betraying the perfect concentration ravishing your mind. _If I can keep avoiding her hammer, this should be over quickly,_ you think as Nora starts charging at you again. She brings her hammer to her side, preparing to blast herself into the air again, and you reflexively drop your stance closer to the ground. A blast wave shoots out of the back of her hammer, propelling herself into the air once again, and you bring your daggers up to chest height, ready to meet her when she tries to hammer your head in. Or so you think.

Nora has a different plan of attack as her hammer sends her much higher up than where you initially thought she'd land, and your confusion turns to surprise as Magnhild reconfigures into its grenade launcher form, a satisfactory grin on her face as she aims the launcher directly at you. _Crap._

Your first idea is to run towards the bombadeer and have the grenades impact behind you while you intercept her landing, but as the first grenade leaves her weapon, another idea interjects itself into your head, and you stand your ground, sheathing your daggers. More grenades follow after the first one, but if this idea works the way you hope it will, that first grenade will be the only one you have to worry about. Watching the first grenade fly towards you, your hand slips underneath the back of your jacket and grasps onto Wind Reaper.

Nora's satisfaction only increases as she continues firing 'nade after 'nade at your location while she soars away from you toward the ceiling of the arena, watching you tense unyielding to what is now seven grenades soaring toward you. _No way can he tank all those grenades and not drop into the red!_ she thinks smugly. However, your plan isn't to tank all the grenades, and her satisfaction melts into caution as you slip the Wind Reaper out from under your jacket and waste no time in deploying it, the transformation finishing with only moments to spare before the grenade reaches you.

Then, the sense of caution changes into surprise as you jump forward, the grenade flying past your chest and toward the ground below your feet as you aim Wind Reaper up at Nora. You trigger an air blast right as the grenade explodes, your aura shielding you from the blast, the propulsion combining with the blast from the explosion to send you slicing through the air at break-neck speed and past Nora's follow-up grenades, unharmed. Nora tries to reconfigure her weapon back into hammer form before you close the distance between the two of you, but she's a whole second too late as you twist your body and spin through the air next to her, using the spin to give yourself extra power as you slash across Nora's chest.

The blow causes her to lose her grip on her weapon and sends her plummeting toward the ground, but you're not done dishing out free damage. As soon as she leaves your weapon's range, Wind Reaper once again aimed at her, you blast yourself straight at her, diving past her weapon and speeding towards her faster than she's falling, closing the gap even faster than before. With no weapon to alter her trajectory or to defend herself with, Nora crosses her arms in front of her in an 'X' and braces for your next attack.

Instead of slashing at her arms, however, you quickly thrust your scythe forward, driving the top of Wind Reaper's pole straight under Nora's 'X' block into her stomach. Nora gasps painfully as the breath is driven out of her body, then cries out as you trigger another air blast behind you, instantly doubling your speed as the distance between the two of you and the ground rapidly closes. You both impact the ground with enough force to pulverize the top layer of the floor, sending up a cloud of dust as Nora's back absorbs most of the impact. You then plant your foot onto her face and kick off into the air, landing several feet away from Nora's forced landing while an audible cringe can be heard from the collective audience.

The string of events happen within the span of about five seconds, and the only person in the room who kept track of everything that just transpired is Ruby. While everyone else's eyes are glued to the persisting dust cloud trying to decipher what just happened, Ruby's stare lands several feet away from the cloud where you're standing, Wind Reaper hanging idly at your side. You've only practiced with it once last night, but your recent performance would trick anyone into thinking you've used it for years; this realization strikes an extreme impression in Ruby's mind.

Nora gasps painfully from the impact driving the wind out of her and damaging her aura severely, the kickoff you did from her face serving to add insult to injury. She hears a metal clang next to her head, and turns it to see Magnhild smacking against the ground next to her. It takes her several seconds before she can get enough control of her breathing to rise to one knee, grabbing Magnhild in the process. The dust cloud finally clears up, revealing Nora shakily rising to both feet with her hammer in her hands. You spare a quick glance at the holodisplay above the arena to check your auras.

 _(Y/N) Reaper: 90%_

 _Nora Valkyrie: 54%_

 _That impact took more out of me than I thought._

You turn your gaze back onto Nora, all signs of weakness from the impact gone from her body. You drop your stance close to the ground, while Nora shifts her stance sideways in response. She's about to move first when you explode from your spot towards her, going from standing still to full-body sprinting in no time at all. Nora starts speeding towards you as well, trying to meet you at the halfway point between you two. Neither of you slow down as the gap between you and her rapidly closes until there's only a foot of space, where you and Nora both plant your feet on the ground, preparing to swing your weapons toward each other with the intention of beating their opponent to the blow.

However, Nora starts her swing first, and you only have a fraction of a second to react as she starts her swing on the same side as you. Twisting your hips to the side as much as you can, you brace Wind Reaper against the hammer head as it reaches you, the impact staggering you back a foot as her hammer impacts the rod of your scythe. Nora grunts slightly as she brings her weapon spinning back around her body, readying it for a blow to your other side.

 _I'm not going to block that in time!_ you realize as she starts the swing while you regain your footing. Instead of bracing yourself for the blow, however, your instinct takes over, and you quickstep closer to her, the foot of space diminishing to only two inches. She has no time to register the change of posture before you drive your elbow into her face, her hammer striking you at the same time with the pole instead of the head. Seeing the predicament turn onto Nora as she staggers backwards in surprise, you bring Wind Reaper swinging towards her, spinning it so that the end with the stun baton will hit her instead of the blade. It strikes her side, and her eyes widen, but not out of pain.

 _Big mistake!_

You bring the scythe spinning back around you and strike the stun baton against her opposite shoulder blade, the force driving her to one knee. You spin your weapon around yourself again, switching to the scythe's blade as you swing downward to drive the blade into her exposed back.

Nora's hand suddenly flashes up and grabs Wind Reaper's pole with an iron grip, stopping the blade just short of her back. Your eyes widen in surprise as you put your entire weight and strength into pushing Wind Reaper down, but Nora's hand doesn't even tremble as she keeps your weapon motionless with no visible effort. Then, she raises her head to look you in the eyes, and the pink lightning racing through her skin start setting off alarm bells in your head. Then, more alarm bells sound off in your stomach as Magnhild suddenly pistons into your stomach, the force combining with a big electric shock to send you flying back into the wall. She lets go of your weapon as she strikes you, and your weapon is still in your hands as you hit the wall and let out a short cry of pain.

You fall onto one knee, trying to recollect your thoughts after Nora scattered them with that last blow. _What just happened?_ You look up from the ground and lock your gaze onto the hammer wielder in question, who lets the hammer rest on her shoulder as pink electricity shoots through various parts of her body. You immediately grasp the concept: electricity makes her stronger, so your stun baton will make her stronger instead of slowing her down.

Nora allows her gaze to travel upward onto the holodisplay, and her confident smirk vanishes when she sees the aura count:

 _(Y/N) Reaper: 68%_

 _Nora Valkyrie: 49%_

She turns around and tenses with her hammer in front of her, readying herself to charge at you once more. You respond by rising to your feet and holding Wind Reaper behind you with one hand, your other hand in front of you in a defensive manner. The same thought enters both of your minds as you both begin your charge- _I need to end this, now!_

Nora's speed matches your own as you both charge at each other again. You see her hammer drop down by her side again, and judging from how she attacked from the last charge, you get a fairly good idea of how she'll attack this time. The gap closes, and Nora matches your prediction perfectly, her hammer swinging upward from her side, electricity arcing from her body into her weapon. Instead of meeting her with your own attack, however, you swing your legs up and to the side, performing a sideways spin over Magnhild and swinging Wind Reaper around your neck in the process.

When you land, Wind Reaper aligns with your shoulders perfectly. Nora then feels something press against her neck, and she immediately tries to backstep away from the scythe's blade.

 _Too late._

You spin in place, Wind Reaper spinning with you, and the blade catches Nora by the neck and carries her with you during the spin. After a full rotation, you put your full force into swinging the weapon to your front side, mimicking a decapitating move that sends Nora into the air a few feet directly above you. With Wind Reaper already pointed straight down, you trigger an air blast and send Nora flying upward many more feet before swinging the scythe around and blasting downward. By now, Nora's already got her senses back and looks over her side to see you next to her in the air, Wind Reaper poised to deliver a powerful downward strike.

She can't bring her hammer around in time as you spin, the brutal attack driving her downward toward the ground. The blow causes her to wince momentarily, and when she opens her eyes again, you're diving past her like a bullet toward the ground. You wait until there's only a few feet between you and the ground, then you front-flip once and land on your feet, the hard landing kicking up a low layer of dust from Nora's earlier impact. The layer of dust rises to your knees as you hold Wind Reaper with one hand under your other arm, ready to deliver a powerful upward strike as Nora's body speeds toward the ground.

 _Now!_

Your weapon flashes upward, catching Nora on the inside of Wind Reaper's blade. The resulting collision is strong enough to disperse the low layer of dust across the entire arena floor like a shockwave, serving to further emphasize the amount of power put into the last attack. Despite the apparent strength, Nora's body only goes up a few feet, then falls back to the ground, unconscious. Magnhild falls from her hand mid-fall, coming to rest on the ground just in front of her hand.

Ruby doesn't dare to move as the battle seems to stop, with the hyper hammer wielder lying out cold and on her face, while you stand a few feet from her with Wind Reaper hanging lazily from your hand. The apparent tension locks her in motionless apprehension until a buzzer signals the end of the match. She watches you compress your weapon and slip it back into place within the folds of your jacket, then turns her gaze onto the holodisplay to observe the final aura percentages.

 _(Y/N) Reaper: 63%_

 _Nora Valkyrie: 5%_

Your aura bar sits in the yellow, while Nora's lies past the white bar and in the red zone. Professor Goodwitch's voice sounds throughout the room.

"That's the match." The rest of Nora's teammates were already making their way down the stairs to their defeated teammate, passing you on your way up the stairs as they jog into the arena. At the top of the stairs, you look back at the holodisplay to observe the end result for yourself, and you squint in disapproval at your own aura count before going around everyone else's seats to where you were seated previously next to Ruby. There's no satisfaction or positivity in your movement, which bewilders her considering that you just won your first match with a decent amount of flair to your move set.

"Good job. That's the first time Nora's lost a match," she compliments, but you only grunt in response. "Oh come on, you just won your first match!"

"I took too many hits," you say simply, watching Team JNPR heading back to the stands, the team's resident ginger already full of energy once more despite her near-empty aura percentage.

"You took one hit, and that was when you accidentally supercharged Nora," Ruby counters, but you shake your head.

"That's one hit too many. Besides, I had a chance to back off when that happened, and I didn't take it."

"You just won a match and you're complaining?" You and Ruby look up to see Jaune leading the rest of Team JNPR along the bench in front of you.

"If I won, I'd be bouncing off the walls!" Nora exclaims dramatically, not at all salty about her loss.

"You're always bouncing off the walls," you deadpan as you turn your attention back onto Professor Goodwitch, who starts pressing buttons on the scrollboard again.

As the Huntress announces the second match-up, Yang's attention gradually shifts onto her younger sister next to her, who keeps turning her head between the new fight and you. Yang immediately notices the far-away look in Ruby's eyes, indicating that the girl is lost in thought. Immediately, Yang is reminded of her earlier suspicions of Ruby's asking you to sit with them earlier that day in the cafeteria. Yang tried to deny it then, but now a line of thought solidifies itself in her mind.

 _Ruby actually likes this guy?!_

In Ruby's mind, the final moments of your match occupy her thoughts. She can't get over the dacapitating move you used to fling Nora into the air or the uppercut that finished the match. She has never thought of using those kinds of moves before, and now she's dissecting that string of moves over and over in her mind trying to grasp every single detail about the combo, casting a glance at you after each iteration.

As the scene repeats itself for the tenth time, Ruby's mind starts to dull in focus. She no longer pays attention to the details of your attacks, instead opting to just watch the scene unfold in her mind repeatedly. She can't pinpoint why, but there's something about the combo that's hypnotic to her, which translates to her being in a kind of lazy daze. The scene ends one more time, but this time she snaps out of her thoughts when her mind adds an extra detail to the scene: when the buzzer sounds, you turn around and wink at her with a warm smile.

 _No no no no I do not like him like that I like him as a friend nothing more and nothing less!_ Ruby's mind returns to the present, lightly shaking her head back and forth to banish the last thought from her head. She casts another glance in your direction, but it's more of a nervous glance instead of an analytical one. After a few seconds, she turns her head onto the match unfolding in front of her, no longer glancing in your direction and intentionally avoiding any thoughts related to you.

None of this is lost on Yang as she observes her sister's sudden change in posture.

* * *

Glynda watches you leave with Teams RWBY and JNPR after hearing the dismissal bell, heading off to Dr. Oobleck's history class. Six matches were held after yours, but none of them were as memorable. Ozpin's instructions from last night flit into her mind: _We must monitor (Y/N) closely. Watch for anything unusual about him._ While your match was going on, she marked down notes about how you act and how you fight during combat, though she didn't notice anything that warranted a closer look. After the battle, the only thing she noticed about you was that you were showing a less-than-mild interest in the remaining matches, which, given your previous display of combat prowess, makes sense to her.

She looks back down at her scroll and taps one finger on the 'send' button, sending the information she recorded earlier to Ozpin's scroll.


	4. Chapter 3: Bound by a Fate of Blood

You sigh as you reach the usual training spot- the clearing where you met Team RWBY. Despite the high levels of energy your usual training regiment demands, you see it as a way to unwind from the daily life of a Beacon Academy student- especially today. The past three days have been the same routine: change into a uniform that's too small, sit through Professor Port's class, eat lunch with Teams RWBY and JNPR, get picked to fight first in Professor Goodwitch's class, get yelled at for saying 'Professor Oobleck' instead of 'Doctor Oobleck', eat dinner, pretend to go to sleep, train at night, rinse and repeat.

However, today took all of those steps and upped the annoying. Your uniform, being too small, suddenly ripped in multiple spots, including a rather 'private area', while you were trying to change into it, so you had to settle in for your normal clothes. Professor Port and Doctor Oobleck were very quick to notice that, and were rather creative in coming up with a verbal chastisement. On top of that, both professors assigned an essay for everyone, including you, to complete despite the fact that you've only been in those classes three times, further adding to your mounting annoyance. The cherry on top of all of that is that in Glynda's class, your aura dropped to 42% when you made several basic mistakes fighting Cardin from Team CRDL, which rewarded you with several critical stares and comments from your peers and a 'note of advice' from Glynda, which further upset your mood.

The clearing suddenly brightens, and you look though the open canopy to see clouds shifting away from the shattered moon. You start stretching out your limbs to loosen up, stretching the muscles until they start to strain slightly. Next, you take Wind Reaper from under your jacket and lay it against a fallen tree, setting your daggers on the ground next to it. Since I use hand-to-hand when I lose my weapons in combat, there's no reason to have those on me for shadow sparring anyway.

You then raise your hands up to your face and shift your posture sideways, preparing to start the three hours of training with an hour of shadow sparring. Then, a conversation from three days ago pops into your head.

* * *

 _"Why does he ask us to call him Doctor Oobleck instead of Professor Oobleck?" you ask as you walk out of his classroom behind Teams RWBY and JNPR._

 _"Because he studied for ten years and earned a doctorate," Blake explains._

 _"Why would someone waste ten years of their life studying?" Ruby asks, causing Weiss to look at her disdainfully._

 _"Don't be such a pest. It takes hard work to get a doctorate, and I don't see you as a hard worker," she scolds. Ruby returns her disdainful stare._

 _"Hey! I can be a hard worker! I just don't want to," she says with a stubborn pout._

 _"Keep dreamin', little sis," Yang teases, rustling her sister's hair. Ruby turns and pouts at her older sister, causing a short bark of laughter to come from Yang. Ruby then notices a figure approaching them from the other side of the hall, sporting a cane in one hand and a coffee mug in the other._

 _"Hey there Professor!" she hails the headmaster, waving her hand in a greeting fashion as he draws closer to your group._

 _"Good evening, students," he says, returning Ruby's greeting to everyone else, but you notice he's keeping his gaze pinned on you. "I need a quick word with (Y/N)," he requests politely, though everyone knows you're not supposed to tell him no. Everyone else starts off down the hall where Ozpin just came from, the cafeteria and the thought of dinner becoming the focus of their attention. And stomachs._

 _"So what do you need?" you say, cutting straight to the point as soon as the other two teams drop out of sight. Ozpin takes a sip of coffee from his mug and fixes you with a coy smile._

 _"I couldn't help but notice you leaving the Forever Fall Forest in the middle of Monday night with miss Rose and miss Schnee in tow. May I ask what you were doing in there past curfew?" he asks, maintaining a rather friendly tone as he gets straight to the point. Your mind goes into lightspeed and immediately comes up with a good excuse to explain Monday night's incident._

 _"They were helping me fine-tune my weapon. I needed to make sure it would work perfectly during today's sparring class," you say after a split-second. Of course, Ozpin knows this isn't true, but doesn't pursue it anyway. He nods his head, visibly accepting your explanation._

 _"Very well. Just don't get caught out past curfew by anyone else. The other professors aren't as forgiving as I am, and Professor Goodwitch takes curfew very seriously," he warns as he turns around and heads down the hall in the opposite direction he came from._

* * *

You still come out at night to practice alone, despite Ozpin's warning. This training is necessary. This thought goes through your mind every time you're reminded of Ozpin's query, but considering the bad luck you've had so far today, it only serves to add another level of agitation to your movement as you start throwing punches and kicks at your imaginary target. Not two minutes pass before a pressure intrudes upon your senses, and it doesn't take long for you to notice that you've sensed this presence before.

After all, you sit next to her in class each day.

"What do you want, Ruby?" you call out, your annoyance beginning to rise again as you turn around to where she's standing. You become even more irritated when you see that she's not even trying to hide herself or her presence from you. _Please don't be something stupid..._

"Are you... okay?" she asks hesitantly as she slowly walks into the clearing, and you roll your eyes and sigh. _It's something stupid!_

"Yes, I'm okay." You try to keep the irritation out of your voice, but fail. "I just want to train alone for a bit," you say, trying to dismiss the conversation and insinuate that she needs to head back to the dormitory. She doesn't.

"It's just that you looked like you were in a bad mood today," she says with a level of caution in her voice.

"Oh gee, you don't say? That tends to happen when you have a bad day," you say in exasperation before noticing something about her that makes you even more irritated, or rather the lack of something. "Where's your weapon?" _She promised not to do that again!_

"Oh, right there," she says as she turns around and points behind her to the tree she was standing next to a few moments ago. Crimson Rose is propped up against the tree trunk, and you mentally curse yourself.

 _How did I not notice that?_ You sigh as she turns back around to you. "Anything else?"

"Well, umm..."

 _What does she want now?!_

"Is, um... is it alright if I... watch you train?" she asks after several moments of hesitation. You tilt your head slightly and raise your eyebrow in a questioning manner.

"Why?" you chop out, and Ruby's eyes start darting back and forth, trying to find a way to phrase her reasoning that didn't sound wierd.

"Well... since I also use a scythe, I thought-"

"One reason I came out here tonight is to be alone," you say, cutting her off before she could fully explain. "I didn't come out here to babysit you." You turn back around and start shadow sparring again.

"Hey! I'm perfectly capable of looking after myself!" she retorts as she stomps over to stand behind you with her arms crossed.

"You're also perfectly capable of knowing when to leave someone alone," you respond without stopping your routine.

"Sorry, am I supposed to leave you alone now?" At this point, Ruby's arguing with you just to be stubborn.

"Yes, you are," you grit as you perform an axe kick and follow up with two more punches to your pretend opponent, your frustration starting to mount up more and more.

"What if I don't want to?"

 _That's it!_ You stop shadow sparring and turn around to face Ruby, your face terse with anger. Her arms are still crossed and she's leaning on one hip in a stubborn manner as you take a few steps toward her to close the distance between you two.

"Alright, listen up princess-"

You don't get to finish your sentence as the ground trembles below the two of you without warning, and neither of you have any time to react before it gives way.

"What the hell!?" you shout as you and Ruby fall through the new hole, though it's only for a moment as you both hit the floor of the cave you've fallen into with a thunk. You immediately get back up on your feet, and you turn your head up to see the hole you fell through resting about ten feet above your head. Ruby gets up a few moments after you do, and notices that there are various dust crystals of all types poking out of the cave walls, providing light for you both to see the cave clearly.

"Perfect," you grunt in agitation as you begin looking around the cave trying to find a way back up to the hole. Immediately, several things stand out to you as odd.

The cave itself is a perfect cube. The walls are completely smooth and the floor is made up of several stone tiles. Several dust crystals of various types are positioned along each wall in the exact same way, making each wall look identical to the next. The only wall that didn't look identical was the one that had an arch in the middle of it, a pathway lit up by more dust crystals leading further into the cave. The floor of the room and the pathway are both made of chiseled stone tiles, and there's a pile of dirt from where the ground collapsed. A shaft of moonlight shines through the hole as well, providing more light alongside the dust crystals sitting in the walls.

"What is this place?" Ruby asks in awe as she looks around the stone room, her gaze sliding along each wall observing the details.

"Don't know, don't care," you say as you keep looking around the area in the ceiling where the hole is. Meanwhile, Ruby continues looking around the walls of the room at the dust crystals, noting the types of dust she's yet to see.

"Look at all this dust..." she breathes out as she walks up to one wall, looking at a pink crystal and poking it tentatively with one finger.

"Well, start looking for a way back up there," you snap while pointing at the hole in the room's ceiling. "I'd rather not be stuck down here while our weapons are up there."

As if on cue, the dust crystals in the room begin to glow brighter, causing Ruby to back up from the crystal she was poking. "Um, (Y/N)?"

"What?" You don't look down from the ceiling as you answer her, agitation still evident in your voice. Ruby glances between you and the dust crystals, her head snapping back and forth as her gaze snaps from you to crystal and back.

"Um... the dust is starting to glow..." she says nervously, and you look down at her, noticing the glowing dust crystals on the wall with the archway are indeed brighter than before.

"What the..." You trail off as you look back up and notice the hole beginning to glow along with the dust crystals. Your confusion turns to panic as the dirt that fell with you through the hole begins to levitate off the ground and back up to the hole, the bits locking back into place and shrinking the opening in the hole.

"No no no no!" you scream in frustration as the hole closes up completely, throwing the room back into a dim glow sustained by the crystals, which have gone back to normal. You stroll up to the closest wall and jam your fist into it as hard as you can, burying it at least a foot into the wall, your aura stopping you from breaking your hand. "Damnit!"

Ruby is trying very hard to keep her composure, but on the inside, she's completely scared. _If only Yang was here..._ Suddenly, she remembers that she has her scroll on her, and she pulls it out and opens it up. The sudden light causes you to turn around and see Ruby fiddling with her scroll. Understanding what she's trying to do, you free your arm from the wall with a hard tug, ripping small pieces of jagged stones out with it, and jog over to her, the frustration plaguing you for the duration of the entire day gone for the first time. It only lasts a few moments, however, as the screen changes from the time displaying **12:45 A.M.** to a text popping up on the screen when Ruby accesses her contacts: **NO SIGNAL**. You take a step back and allow your head to hang backward in exasperation.

"Great. We can't call for help..." You look around the cave again, trying to figure out what to do next. Your posture starts to slacken as the extra energy you had from being angry all day suddenly dissipates, leaving you wearily frustrated instead of angrily frustrated. "How did that even happen?"

"It was the dust..." Ruby says quietly, also looking around the room at the dust crystals. "That was time dilation."

You turn around and face Ruby again, an eyebrow raised in question again. "Time what-now?"

"I've seen Weiss practice it with her glyphs once," she starts to explain, doing miniature hand gestures to help her think better. "It's like rewinding time on something. I think the dust invoked time dilation on that hole we fell through."

This time there's no retort or snapping or comment made as you simply go over to the wall opposite the passageway and sit down next to it, one knee propped up with your arm resting on top of it. Ruby follows suit and sits down next to you against the wall, her legs kicked straight out and her hands planted on the ground next to her. You both sit like this for at least ten minutes, your gazes unfocused as you both lose yourselves in thought trying to figure out what to do next. Eventually, Ruby looks up at the passageway on the other side of the room.

"What's through there?" She asks the question just to draw your attention to it, and you look up at the archway holding the tunnel in question, the focal point of your attention lit up by various dust crystals. After a moment of thought, you slowly shake your head.

"Dunno, but it's not somewhere we need to go."

"Why not?" Ruby asks, looking over at you in confusion. "That hole's not going to open up again, so it may be the way out."

"We don't know what's in there, and we don't have our weapons," you explain, turning your head to meet her gaze. "For all we know, that could be a death trap."

"Do you have a better idea?" Ruby asks as she stands up, already knowing your answer. You sigh and stand up as well, following behind Ruby as she starts to slowly approach the opening of the passageway.

"Who built this place?" she asks aloud to no one in particular as she lazy-walks to the passageway, her gaze wandering about the expanse of the room that you're both standing in.

"Dunno- I just hope that nothing here tries to kill us," you say as you turn around to where Ruby is standing two feet behind you. She only nods her head as you start back towards the passageway, a sense of security planted in your head as you start down the tunnel with Ruby not too far behind you.

* * *

"Where is she?!" Yang is on full alert after waking up and seeing her sister's bed empty. Weiss and Blake are a little slower in waking up, not immediately understanding why Yang just hopped off her bed and ran up to Ruby's.

"Yang, what's going on?" Blake asks groggily as she sits up slowly in her bed, still under the covers. Weiss follows suit, her hair, usually in a ponytail, messy from a night of sleep.

"Ruby's not here!" she exclaims, mentally panicking as she throws back the covers on Ruby's bed. She starts running a list of every possible spot Ruby could be in her head. Weiss only shakes her head and gets up out of bed, walking over and grabbing her scroll off of the desk.

"Hold on, I'll call her," she says stoically as she brings up Ruby's contact page and presses the call button. Yang walks over and stands two feet away, waiting anxiously for her sister to answer her scroll. After six buzzes, the call fails, leaving all three members of the team in worry.

"Oh, she is in so much trouble when I find her," Yang mutters as she dresses in her regular outfit, grabs her scroll and Ember Celica, and storms out the door. Weiss and Blake quickly change into their normal outfits and follow her out the door, snagging their weapons as they go.

"Maybe Jaune or Pyrrha knows where she is," Yang says as she knocks on Team JNPR's door. A few more seconds pass and she goes to knock on it again, only for the door to swing open with Ren standing at the door.

"What's going on?" he asks, immediately sensing that something's amiss.

"Ruby's gone!" Yang exclaims, cutting straight to the chase. "Have you guys seen her?"

"Unfortunately not," Ren replies. Jaune, Pyrrha, and Nora come into view behind him, already fully dressed and armed.

"Maybe (Y/N) knows where she is?" Pyrrha suggests.

"He better know," Yang scowls before storming over to your room's doorway, everyone else close behind her. Yang doesn't waste any time in knocking on the door rapidly. No response. She knocks on it again. Still no response.

 _He's so dead!_ Yang pumps her fists in the air, Ember Celica turning from two yellow bangles on her wrists into wrist-mounted shotguns. Jaune immediately tries to stop her.

"Yang, wait!" His attempt ends in vain as she punches your door full-force, causing it to fly off its hinges and crash onto your bed, breaking the bed in half and causing the bed to adopt a V-shape at the split. Everyone's eyes are immediately drawn to the broken bed, illuminated by the sun shining through the window, having risen over the horizon about an hour ago. Nothing moved from on top of the bed or from underneath the door. You're nowhere to be found inside the room. Huffing in increasing rage, Yang angrily turns away from your room.

"Ruby's missing, and (Y/N)'s not here," Yang says angrily as she storms away from your room toward the stairway leading to the first floor of the building. "I swear, if he's laid a finger on her-"

"Yang, calm down," Blake says calmly, putting a hand on Yang's shoulder firmly to hold her in place. "I don't trust him either, but I don't think he'd kidnap Ruby. Besides, we'd have noticed if he tried to break into our dorm." After a brief pause, Yang takes a big breath, accepting Blake's reasoning. "The question is, where are they now?"

"I think I might know where," Weiss says, starting for the staircase. "Follow me."

* * *

 ***several hours earlier***

You and Ruby walk into a small room after about ten minutes of walking through the passageway, the winding tunnel lit by a constant string of various types of dust crystals, most of which Ruby never even knew existed. The small room isn't as artificially made as the first room, the only exception being the placement of dust crystals. While you could keep going until at least dawn, you noticed Ruby starting to get weary herself, and upon seeing this small room, you decide to rest here for a while.

"Let's stop here for a bit," you say while walking over to a curve in the wall.

"No, I can keep going," Ruby protests, but a yawn soon overtakes her as she finishes speaking.

"Mmm hmm," you hum disbelievingly, laying down next to the wall. Ruby opens her mouth to argue further, but all that comes out is another yawn. After it's gone, she huffs in defeat and lays down along the wall next to you. Both of your heads are right next to each other, though your backs are turned to each other.

"We're stopping here for a bit- you should get some sleep while we're here," you say, glancing up at the various dust crystals in place in the walls and the ceiling. "We have a good amount of time before dawn."

Ruby doesn't say anything in response as she tries to get comfortable on the stone floor, but soon she starts to shiver from the room's low temperature despite her outfit covering her entire body. You only lay there silently, gazing up at where the wall meets the ceiling as you wait for sleep to overtake you, your jacket shielding you from the cold temperature. After twelve minutes, however, your attention is drawn to Ruby, who keeps rolling back and forth in place, pulling her hoodie over her head and constantly shifting around in her cloak trying to get warm, to no avail. You let yourself dwell in thought for a moment before sitting up and removing your jacket, promptly tossing it behind you onto Ruby's stomach.

"Put that on if you're cold," you say as you stand up from your temporary resting place. Ruby props herself up with one elbow and looks over at you. You're leaning against the wall with your arms crossed and a thoughtful expression on your face, with nothing but a grey T-shirt covering your upper body.

"But you're in a T-shirt," she says after drawing in a shuddering breath.

"I've been able to sleep in colder areas," you deadpan. "Also, I'm not the one shivering so much."

"But-"

"I'm not tired, anyway," you say, stopping Ruby's next protest. "You, on the other hand..."

Ruby squints in disapproval, but draws your jacket around her shoulders. She doesn't say anything, instead lying down on the stone floor, trying to get comfortable again. This time, she doesn't have to toss and turn trying to find a position that traps her body heat thanks to your jacket, and starts becoming even more drowsy within seconds. After a few minutes, she falls asleep completely, your jacket wrapped around her shoulders and covering her body from her shoulders to her waist as a makeshift blanket.

You don't move a muscle from where you're leaning against the wall as you watch Ruby fall asleep, her chest rising and falling slowly indicating she's completely asleep. You close your eyes after another minute, though you remain awake standing against the cave wall. You'd be lying if you didn't think that falling asleep was very tempting to you, but there are too many thoughts flooding your mind for you to relax enough to fall asleep.

The situation that the two of you have stumbled into is enough to keep you awake on its own- you're both stuck in a mysterious and random cave that's layered in vast amounts of dust, both familiar and new. Even more strange than that is the fact that the dust can act as some sort of defensive system against the Grimm on its own- without anyone interacting with it to provide a purpose or direction. Then, there's the fact that the two of you are here and not at Beacon. It may be in the middle of the night, but past experience has taught you that the night can pass one by very quickly, whether awake or asleep. If you spend too long in this place, your absences will be noticed by everyone at Beacon, and that will create trouble. The sooner you can leave, the better.

 _Won't hurt to take a look further down the tunnel._

You open your eyes and turn your gaze to where the tunnel continues through a passageway a few feet down from where you're standing. You take a few steps toward the exit of the small room, then cast a glance behind yourself to Ruby's sleeping form. Knowing the dust crystals in the room will vaporize any threat before they can reach her, you turn back around and proceed down the passage, which immediately curves off to the right.

After thirty-or-so steps, you emerge from the end of the curved tunnel into another room about the same size of the one you left Ruby in. There's dust crystals peppering the cave walls and ceiling just like the rest of the cavern, but this time there's three tunnels to go through- one to your left, one to your right, and one straight ahead, though that one is blocked off by a flat block of stone with two small holes in the center. You start to approach the blocked passageway when a voice from behind startles you somewhat.

"About time you showed up."

You spin around on your heel to identify the source of the voice, tensing your body and dropping your stance slightly in anticipation of a possible fight. Leaning against the inside of the tunnel that you just emerged from is a man about a foot and a half taller than you. He's dressed in a black suit and red tie, black dress pants, and black dress shoes, which don't have any wrinkles or folds anywhere along his outfit. He has an average build with wavy brown hair extending down to his shoulders, but that doesn't take away from the air of authority he exerts, accented by the critical stare from his orange eyes and the massive great axe slung on his back. To top it all off, you didn't see, hear, or even sense him behind you like you can with other people and Grimm.

"Who are you?" you ask tersely, not moving a muscle as the mystery figure leans off the wall and starts to approach you. Even though his posture is lax and he doesn't seem to bear hostility towards you, you remain on guard as he slowly walks towards you.

"I'm an Eidolon."

Your posture slackens a bit, and you rise slightly from your hostile stance. While your hostility itself starts leaving your body, you don't allow your guard to drop for a moment.

"You're an Eidolon?" you ask as the so-called demigod in question stops walking about six feet from where you're standing, looking down at you with a neutral expression. You squint your eyes and slightly tilt your head sideways in disbelief. "You don't look like an all-powerful being to me."

"If I were to assume my true form, I'd be squished from the lack of room here," he states with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Yeah, sure," you deadpan, twisting your head to the side to glance at the blocked-off tunnel, returning your gaze up to the Eidolon after a moment. "How do we get out of here?"

"Well…" he trails off, turning his head to look at the tunnel leading back to where you left Ruby. "I think you should both be here for that. Yes, I know that you're not alone here," he says before you can interrupt him. "I wouldn't be doing my job very well if I didn't know when someone entered my Conglomerate Chamber," he explains, even though you're slightly puzzled by his words.

Before you can ask any more questions, the Eidolon snaps his fingers, and his body erupts into brilliant blue flames, which instantly cover every inch of his body and emits a bright flash of light. You shield your eyes with your arm from the sudden light for a couple seconds, but when you lower your arm to look at the sudden change, all that's left of the demigod are some dim, blue embers where the combustion occurred.

 _What the… How did he do that? He just disappeared in blue fire like he was a magician doing a vanishing act._ You stand there for several seconds trying to work out how the demigod just ninja-vanished before you shake your head and start down the tunnel leading back to the previous room. I need to wake up Ruby.

You backtrack through the tunnel back into the previous room, finding Ruby just as you left her against the wall. You approach her and, kneeling down, lightly shake her shoulder.

"Wake up."

Ruby's eyes slowly flutter open at the sudden contact, and she raises her head slightly to see you shaking her shoulder, silhouetted against the dim light of the room's dust. She slowly sits up, your jacket still slung over her shoulders like a blanket.

"(Y/N)…?" she yawns, her mind addled by sleep. "How long was I out for?" she asks, reaching for her scroll to check the time while you grab your jacket off her shoulders and secure it on your own, slipping your arms through the sleeves.

"Not long- only a few minutes," you reply as you stand back up and head for the tunnel leading to where you encountered the Eidolon. "Come on- we've got a problem."

Ruby nods and stands up, looking at her scroll in one hand to see the time- **7:52 A.M.** _Only a few minutes? This says I was asleep for at least six hours!_ She shakes her head and follows you through the tunnel, pocketing her scroll as she goes.

"So what's the problem?" she asks as you emerge into the next chamber, and her mind immediately notes the multiple paths that exist. "Oh, there's multiple paths. Which one do we go down?" she asks, but she suspects you don't know the answer. The answer you do give confuses her instead of confirming her suspicion.

"That's not the problem," you correct, approaching the blocked tunnel. Before you can say anything further, a recent acquaintance makes his presence known again.

"That passageway will lead you to this chamber's exit, but it requires two keys to unlock," he says, standing in the same spot that he surprised you from last time. You turn over your shoulder to see the Eidolon as he was the last time he introduced himself, while Ruby spins around rapidly on her heel and back pedals a few steps, surprised at the newcomer's presence.

"Who are you?!" Ruby exclaims, her silver eyes wide in surprise and a slight amount of fear. The Eidolon glances down at her, sizing her up through his sharp orange eyes.

"You'll know soon," he responds cryptically, turning his attention to you. "To open it, you simply have to go through these other two passages, fight an enemy, grab the crystals they drop, and jam them into those two slots in the stone," he explains nonchalantly while gesturing .

"You make it sound easy," you deadpan, cautiously glancing down the passageway to your right while feeling a rather empty spot on your back. "Also, we don't have our weapons," you add, glancing back at the demigod standing across the room from the blocked tunnel.

"You mean those weapons?" he asks, pointing a thumb over his shoulder without looking. You and Ruby shift your gazes behind the demigod to see Crescent Rose, Wind Reaper, and your dancing daggers sitting about seven feet behind him.

"How did you-" Ruby begins to ask, confused, but the Eidolon interrupts her.

"I'd hurry up if I were you," he warns suddenly, and your eyes narrow in suspicion as he continues. "I ran into two teams of students while collecting those, and they seemed pretty worried about you," he explains, crossing one arm across his chest while pointing at Ruby with the other one. Then, he looks downward slightly and lets a chuckle slip out. "The blonde one even had the nerve to threaten me."

"They're already looking for us?" you ask, more to yourself than the Eidolon. _It's still in the middle of the night!_

"They must've noticed we weren't in our dorms, and classes start in about an hour," she explains, remembering that it's nearly eight in the morning. You, on the other hand, just stare at her like she's grown a second head.

"What are you talking about? It's the middle of the night, and we've only been in here for about an hour or so," you say, completely confused.

"Well…" the Eidolon starts, shrugging his shoulders as you and Ruby turn your gazes back onto him. "Time flows differently here than outside. I can stretch out a minute to last hours, or make hours fly by in a matter of minutes."

What he says completely throws you and Ruby off, but you don't have time to ponder as the demigod steps forward away from your weapons.

"I'll stretch out time so that you'll be out of here in the next two minutes," he says as he stops just eight feet away from where you and Ruby are standing, then snaps his fingers, vanishing in the same flash of blue flame as last time. Your eyes squint against the sudden change in light, and Ruby raises her arm to shield her eyes against the discomforting flash. You and Ruby then look back at where the man was standing just to see more blue embers drifting around the spot.

"What…. is he….?" Ruby says in bewilderment and awe, while you just shake your head.

"An Eidolon, supposedly," you say, equally as bewildered as Ruby, though you don't allow it to show.

"You mean like those demigods that Professor Port mentioned?" Ruby queries.

"I think so," you confirm, eyes narrowed downward in thought. Something that the Eidolon says suddenly grasps your attention, and you turn back to Ruby. "Is it really almost eight o'clock?"

"Mm," she grunts in confirmation, pulling out her scroll and turning it on, displaying a time on it: **7:53 A.M.**

"Impossible..." You stare at her scroll in complete disbelief, remembering that only an hour ago, or at least what felt like an hour ago, the time you saw on Ruby's scroll was somewhere around 12:40 A.M. After staring at the scroll for a few seconds, you shake your head to clear your head and organize your thoughts.

"If that's the case, we can't waste time then." You don't waste any time approaching your weapons and, after tossing Crescent Rose to Ruby, placing your daggers on your hips and Wind Reaper within your jacket.

"I take the right tunnel, you take the left?" you suggest, approaching the right tunnel while Ruby, now armed with Crescent Rose compacted on her back, nods her head in agreement and approaches the left one. As the two of you proceed through your respective tunnels, however, the Eidolon's voice echoes through the cave again, though this time the demigod isn't present in the room.

"Your past awaits."

 _Your past awaits?_ Ruby echoes the question inside her head as she walks down her tunnel, brows furrowed in thought. _Does_ _that mean we're fighting someone from our past? How?_

Ruby continues to debate the question in her head until she reaches the end of the tunnel, popping out into a large chamber about the same size as the sparring classroom's arena at Beacon, except the walls round off into a dome instead of the usual walls and ceiling. Just like the rest of the cave system, the dome is peppered with various dust crystals.

The redhead draws Crescent Rose and advances slowly into the room, eyeing the dust crystals around her with hostile suspicion. As if on cue, all of the dust suddenly begins to glow, just like they did when you both first entered the caverns. Ruby immediately tenses, dropping her stance and gripping Crescent Rose in front of her to be ready to block any incoming projectiles they might fire.

Instead of firing beams of energy at her, however, the dust crystals fire beams directly into the center of the room, all of the beams impacting one spot and forming a small white dot suspended slightly above the floor. As Ruby observes the beams continue to converge at the dot, it begins to expand slowly. Ruby then backs up a few steps as the white point begins to expand at a much faster rate, growing exponentially without any signs of stopping. As the expansion reaches Ruby in a matter of seconds, she ducks her head down and raises her arm in front of it, bracing herself against the imminent contact.

The first thing that Ruby registers as the expansion reaches her is a mild warmth instead of the violent impact that she was initially expecting. She lowers her arm and raises her head, confused about the warm feeling she's getting, and even more so from what her eyes first perceive- her environment has changed from the dark stone chamber to a cliff side, with shortly-cut grass covering the top of it. Trees occasionally dot the top of the expanse, with a tree line leading to a forest silently resting several dozen feet away from where Ruby's standing. The sky has not a cloud in sight, with the sun shining warmly on the entire expanse. White rose petals are drifting around aimlessly on top of the expanse as far as Ruby can see.

 _Wait a minute…_ As Ruby looks around to take in this new environment, something clicks in her head, and she turns her gaze toward the cliff side. A tombstone jutting out from the edge of a short ledge protruding out from the edge of the cliff confirms her suspicions. _This is Mom's grave!_

As soon as she completes this thought, the drifting rose petals suddenly start to gravitate toward the grave, causing Ruby to look around in surprise and confusion. As more and more petals gather near the grave, they start to revolve around the grave in a sort of mini-tornado of rose petals. Once most of them have gathered at the tombstone, the mini tornado of roses begins to rotate faster and faster, enough to begin shielding the tomb from Ruby's view, but not enough to create a buffeting wind. After several seconds of this, Ruby watches in awe as the petal storm suddenly stops in its tracks, allowing her to spot a figure in a white cloak and white hood standing in front of her mother's grave. While the hood obscures some of the figure's face, the rest is still visible to Ruby, and the Eidolon's words begin to flash through her mind: _Your_ _past awaits._

Crescent Rose falls to the grass as Ruby brings her hands up in front of her mouth, her breathing becomes ragged, and tears begin streaming down her face.

"H-How….?" Ruby asks, her entire body shaking as she sobs uncontrollably, her blurry vision trying to focus on the figure standing in between her and her mother's grave: Summer Rose.

 _Your past awaits._ The Eidolon's words echo through her head again, and her eyes widen even further as a terrible conclusion assumes itself in her mind.

 _I have to fight Mom?!_ The thought brings a fresh wave of tears racing down her face, and she finally loses the will to stand, sinking onto shaking knees in front of Crescent Rose and burying her face in her hands, refusing to face reality. After several moments of crying, the sound of light footsteps approaching her compels her to look up, her hands dropping onto her knees. Summer is walking towards her slowly, her expression unreadable. This fills Ruby with extreme amounts of fear as her mind begins to race, her normally-cheerful silver eyes, now fraught with fear and disbelief, now locked on to the approaching figure of her mother.

 _This isn't real…_ Ruby begins hyperventilating and shaking even more vehemently than before, her hands slowly rising from her knees back in front of her face as Summer raises her arm, a sword flashing out of her white cloak.

 _This isn't real… This isn't real… This isn't real!_ She squeezes her eyes shut tightly and her breath catches in her throat as she hopes desperately to wake up from whatever nightmare she's just stumbled into.

* * *

The room is silent. Nothing is moving, the air is silent, the dust crystals scattered around the room glows dimly, and the figure sitting on top of the center pedestal doesn't want to disturb that comforting silence as he waits patiently for the two of you to complete the trial. That silence doesn't last long as another presence intrudes upon his senses- a presence he hasn't felt in over eight-thousand years.

The Eidolon looks up, and standing in front of him is another person in the same outfit as him- same suit and tie, pants, shoes- the only difference is his black tie as opposed to the red tie that the other figure sports and the gold-outlined black sword resting in a similarly-colored sheathe on his back. His short, black hair is combed off to one direction, and his black eyes are as serious as ever.

"You ought to be more careful about letting total strangers in here, Ifrit," he comments, crossing his arms as Ifrit stands up from the pedestal.

"You're one to talk," he counters as he adopts a similar stance to the newcomer. "You've been gone for several millennia- you may as well be a stranger yourself."

"I'm aware of that," the newcomer responds, narrowing his eyes in offense to Ifrit's insult. "But these trials are only meant for those with the blood of the clan, yet you dragged in that girl along with Reaper."

"I have my reasons," Ifrit retorts, narrowing his eyes in stubborn defensiveness. "Besides, the girl was basically glued to him, so I didn't have a choice."

"You could have waited," the stranger deadpans. "Reaper returns to that clearing virtually every night, so it's not like this was a one-time occasion." He leans forward slightly and frowns somewhat. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you want to link them together with an affection mark."

Ifrit uncrosses his arms and shrugs, not caring at all that the recent arrival knows his plans- or one of them, at least. "Like I said, I have my reasons."

"They're pretty bad reasons," the stranger remarks coldly, making Ifrit's expression change to a cartoonish skateboard face. "Besides, they may not live through the trials."

Ifrit growls, staring down at the space halfway between himself and his fellow demigod while briefly closing his eyes. "You know the rules, Bahamut: we can't help them."

"Correction, you can't help them," Bahamut snaps, black eyes flashing dangerously despite the dim light of the room. "Nothing says I can't help them."

Ifrit's brow furrows in anger and his teeth start to grind against each other in frustration. "That's not the point! They must finish the trial of their own volition, otherwise they aren't worthy to claim the power from that pedestal!" he shouts, gesturing to the pedestal that he was recently sitting on without taking his now-hostile gaze off of Bahamut.

"Oh please, no one's been worthy to claim it for four-thousand years," Bahamut snaps in sarcastic irritation.

"And this one is?"

"That's not the point! If we don't help them now, they'll die! Everything the master worked towards all these years will be wasted! We can't afford to do nothing now!" Bahamut shouts, frustration seeping into his own voice as he struggles not to lash out at his ancient friend.

 _WHAT!_ Ifrit just barely keeps himself from drawing his own weapon in rage, his eye ticking and hands clenching and unclenching in an attempt to control himself. "You're one to talk," he remarks cruelly, the venom in his voice twice as evident despite the volume returning to its usual, quiet level. However, it doesn't last long as he launches into a tirade. "Where were you when our master's vision of a clan of saviors resulted in a clan of tyrants? Where were you when Cadence and the Fashadd nearly wiped us out six-thousand years ago at the Plains of Palamecia? Where were you when the Arbiter ordered us to lay waste to Mantle four-thousand years ago?!"

As Ifrit's verbal onslaught continues, his breathing becomes more labored and tears start to form in his eyes as his rant starts to turn from one of anger into a way to relieve emotional pressure. "Where were you when Remnant suffered under Reaper jurisdiction for three-thousand years?! Where were you when we sided with Mantle to suppress human expression?! Where-"

Ifrit cuts off mid-sentence as his emotions start to boil over, unable to continue raving as he breathes heavily and irregularly, tears streaming down his face as he borders on a mental breakdown. Bahamut merely looks on with a masked expression as Ifrit slowly reigns his emotions back in to a controlled level. When he continues, the venom is gone from his voice and he's no longer screaming, his eyes squeezed shut and his tone emotionally strained.

"Where were you... when we started the Great War?… Where were you… when we were nearly wiped out?" Ifrit opens his eyes and looks up at Bahamut almost pleadingly, tear tracks staining his face and his lip slightly quivering. "You were nowhere to be found. You- the only Eidolon strong enough to act independently of the Godfather's will! You could have stopped all of that..." Ifrit looks down at his hands, turning his palms upward as he recalls the long history of the Reaper clan, looking at them as if they were still stained with the blood of the innocent. "The rest of us aren't strong like you- we're bound to the Godfather's directive no matter what."

Bahamut remains silent, his stoic gaze not revealing anything as Ifrit calms down some more, steadying his breathing and wiping the tears off his face while still staring at his hands. "You'd never understand being forced to do the opposite of what you were created to do." He allows his hands to fall back down at his sides as he fixes Bahamut with a serious stare. "No… more… if they die in these trials, then they die- I don't care," Ifrit states, breaking eye contact with his fellow acquaintance to look back at the pedestal in the center of the chamber. "Good riddance to a fate bound by a legacy of blood."

Bahamut's expression doesn't waver as he ponders everything that Ifrit just confided to him, his words echoing through his mind. _You were nowhere to be found. You- the only Eidolon strong enough to act independently of the Godfather's will! You could have stopped all of that... Good riddance to a fate bound by a legacy of blood._

 _If only you knew, old friend…_ After several moments of terse silence between the two, Bahamut abruptly turns around on his heel and starts walking towards the exit of the chamber.

"Where are you going?" Bahamut doesn't stop walking as an exact copy of the sword on his back appears in his hand in a flash of white light.

"I told you earlier- they may not live through the trials… not without some help…"

* * *

Ruby gasps as she collides against a nearby tree, the breath being driven out of her body. Her aura visibly flickers, indicating she's dangerously low on aura. Crescent Rose is laying on the grass where she first dropped it upon seeing Summer's illusion appear. She hasn't lifted a finger to try and fight back, her emotions rendering her to a crying mess as the illusion of her mother knocks her around left and right, seemingly toying with her for the entire ten minutes that have passed. All she can do is stare up at her aggressor with a tear-stained face and a trembling body as she approaches her again, sword in hand and a neutral expression still drawn upon her face.

"Please… stop…" Ruby knows that she won't listen to her, but her mind is too far gone in emotional shock and paralyzing fear to listen to reason now. All she's capable of doing is watching through a tear-blurred, fear-addled gaze as Summer stops in front of Ruby's unwilling form and brings her arm back, the sword catching the sunlight as she prepares for another strike to the red reaper. Ruby lowers her head and squeezes her eyes shut, her mind at its breaking point emotionally.

"Please!" The sword loses the sun's glint before Summer brings it slashing across towards Ruby.

The sound of metal tearing clothing is heard, but Ruby still feels nothing, still under an emotional trance. The thing that breaks her temporary trance is a yelp of surprise from Summer, and Ruby looks up to see that she's no longer standing in front of her. Taking a quick look around, Ruby spots her off to the right, pinned by her cloak to another nearby tree, her neutral expression finally broken with a look of surprise. Wiping her eyes with her sleeve to get a clearer view of her, Ruby sees something that causes a sleuth of various emotions- one of your dancing daggers pinning Summer's cloak to the tree.

Ruby, emotional trauma lessened from confusion for now, instinctively looks to her left to see you standing a few yards away, the other dagger dangling lazily from your finger.

"(Y/N)…?"

Your eyes dart to your right to see a trembling Ruby slumped against a tree, her face red and stained with tear tracks, but you don't have time to act on this as Summer, hood pulled free from your sneak attack, pulls the dagger free and, with a deft flick of her wrist, sends it spinning towards you at a high velocity. You respond by raising your arm and catching the dagger by the handle before it reaches your head, unfazed. You casually lower your arm down to your side while flicking the other dagger up with your finger before catching it at your side.

Absolute silence envelopes the cliff side as you and Summer stare each other down, neither one of you daring to move a muscle. You then let your gaze glance to your right at Ruby once more, and her gaze is switching back and forth between you and her mother. You can already tell how this person relates to Ruby- they're a spitting image of each other. You let your gaze fall back onto Summer, and she slowly begins to lower her stance, preparing the first strike. You spin your right dagger around your hand before sheathing it, keeping your hand inside your jacket to draw on Wind Reaper at a moment's notice as you and Summer continue to stare each other down.

You blink, and Summer's already covered half the distance between the two of you. With no time to draw Wind Reaper, you raise your other dagger in defense as Summer covers the entire distance, already slashing downward with her sword.

 _She's fast!_ Her sword connects with your dagger, and a loud clang resounds throughout the air. You begin deploying Wind Reaper immediately, but Summer retracts her sword and slashes toward your other side. You only barely bring your dagger around to parry the strike, Wind Reaper half-deployed at this point. Trying to get a bearing on her during her assault, you bring your foot up and deliver a kick to her chest as she brings her sword around for a third strike.

She staggers backward a couple steps, her attack interrupted, and you instantly try to cover the distance, sheathing your dagger now that Wind Reaper is completely deployed. You swing at her side just as she regains her footing, but in a blur of movement, she ducks past your swipe while slashing behind herself at your back with her own sword. The hit forces you forward off-balance, and you turn around to try and catch her next attack, only to be met with a spinning kick to your face at tremendous force that sends you spinning through the air several feet backward, losing your grip on your scythe in the process. You tumble across the ground a couple times before planting your hand on the ground, letting you recover your footing and recover into a low stance, but the reprieve is short-lived as Wind Reaper crashes into you blade-first the next second, the force carrying you backward through a tree and into a massive boulder, the impact drawing a loud shout of pain from you and sending up a debris cloud of pulverized dust that obscures you from view.

"(Y/N)!" Ruby has gotten back on her feet, but is still leaning on her arm against the tree as she watches the short exchange between you and her mother, a storm of conflicting feelings rushing through her mind. Part of her wants you to win, but the other part of her… won't be relieved when that happens. She shakes her head to try and free up some room for thought.

 _He's losing… badly… What do I do?_

The dust cloud shifts slightly as two spinning daggers erupt from both sides, curving through the air towards Summer in two converging arcs. She responds by slashing at each dagger as they reach her, knocking them away harmlessly before returning her attention to the dust cloud. Bringing her sword across her shoulder, she slings her sword downward, the sword in turn breaking off into multiple sections held together by a flexible, yet thick metal wire. The chain blade extends toward the dust cloud as she slashes downward, dispelling the cloud as the end of the blade shears right through it. The blade meets no resistance, the dispelled cloud revealing that you're no longer standing there.

Summer's gaze darts left and right, trying to discern where you vanished to while her chain blade retracts back into a sword. Her query is answered as a loud blast reaches her ears from above, and she looks up, only to be met with a scythe blade smashing her in the face, sending her flying backwards. The breath is driven out of her as she collides with a tree, losing her grip on her sword in the process. Before her feet touch the ground, your scythe's chain blade circles around her rapidly, chaining her to the tree.

You're propelling yourself in a circle around her using Wind Reaper's compression blast and the wire to keep you connected to her, scooping your dancing daggers off the ground and sheathing them in the first few rotations. As this happens, more and more of the wire wraps around her as you quickly close the gap between you and her, the tight bind crushing the air from Summer's lungs and forcing a pained gasp from her. When you're only a couple feet away from her, you spin Wind Reaper around to blast forward, stopping yourself dead in front of Summer, who's completely pinned by your wire crushing her chest and stomach. Spinning Wind Reaper around again without giving slack to the wire, you aim the weapon behind you while drawing your dagger backhanded, aiming for a stab to her head.

 _It's over!_ You propel yourself forward with another blast behind you, the tip of your dagger rapidly closing in on Summer's head. Simultaneously, Summer concentrates for a moment and activates her semblance, instantly vanishing into a scattering flurry of white rose petals.

THUNK.

Your dagger impacts the spot where Summer's head was a fraction of a second ago, burying itself almost all the way into the tree trunk. Your adrenaline wanes and changes into confusion as you look around at the petals drifting around in the air.

"What the…?" You give a hard yank to your dancing dagger, pulling it free from the tree trunk and sliding it back into its sheathe, then lightly kick Wind Reaper's blade free of the trunk, allowing it to retract around the tree until the blade reattached itself to the body of the weapon. You reach up to one of the floating petals and lightly pin it between your index and middle fingers, holding it in front of your face to take a closer look at it out of complete curiosity.

"Is it…. over?" Ruby's moved from her spot at the tree to stand a few feet away from you, and you turn your gaze to her. While she isn't back to her normal, cheery self, she's no longer frozen from her earlier trauma. You don't answer her, opting instead to look back at the white rose petal snared between your fingers, looking at it for a moment longer before allowing a gentle breeze to gently whisk it back into the air around the tree.

 _It is over, right?_ The way the fight ended was slightly perplexing to you, and the cliff side hasn't turned back into the cave where the environmental illusion first spawned. You recall the instructions that the Eidolon gave you after you woke up Ruby- defeat your opponent, grab the crystal they drop, and insert them into the stone blocking the exit. You slip your hand into your pocket and brush it over the crystal you won from your relatively quick battle after parting ways with Ruby.

 _So where's the other one?_ Something suddenly pops up in your head, and you look back up at the white rose petals still floating around the area, but this time you're concentrating on any feeling you can pick up from detecting an aura. The adrenaline instantly returns to your blood as you drop into a combat stance, priming your aura once more for combat.

 _That person's aura hasn't faded away… She's still here!_

As if on cue, the rose petals suddenly speed away en masse from the tree where you had Summer pinned to an area about twenty feet from where you're standing. You aim Wind Reaper's compression blaster behind you, expecting her to reappear where the petals are currently gathered. However, to your surprise, the petals start speeding towards you with violent intent, and you're left with no time to defend yourself as the petal storm reaches you.

Ruby watches as the petal storm rushes past you and converges into a spot between you and the tree, scattering again after a short moment to reveal Summer kneeling as if she'd just jumped off a short ledge, seemingly out of breath. Ruby's gaze flits back to you, but you don't turn around to face her mother- instead, you're remaining in place, slightly shaking and wide-eyed in surprise.

Ruby's confusion transmutes into shock as your aura visibly flickers once before your eyes roll up to the back of your head and you collapse to the ground, Wind Reaper falling from your grasp. Blood starts trickling from cuts too thin for Ruby to see initially, and she takes a step back from the scene before her, realizing what it is Summer just did to you. She cut him with the rose petals!

Ruby involuntarily stiffens when Summer's gaze turns towards her, still neutral despite the fact that Summer's breathing is still heavy. She takes another step back as Summer starts to approach Ruby once more, aiming to finish what she started. Ruby's gaze switches from her mother back onto you as she continues backing up- you're still unconscious on the ground, blood now starting to visibly seep through the black pants and grey shirt under your jacket. She doesn't know why, but seeing you in this state grants her a slight moment of clarity.

 _This isn't Mom…_ Her fist clenches and she stops backing away from Summer, who stops her advance upon noticing this change in behavior. Ruby's knuckles whiten from how much she's clenching her fists, and her gaze flicks back to Summer, anger and determination ruling her mind. A second later, she bursts into a flurry of red rose petals that heads straight for Crimson Rose, grabbing it as soon as she reappears.

 _This is an imposter!_ Ruby drops down into a combat stance, slamming her scythe into the ground to aim at Summer and pulling the bolt on her scythe back to load a bullet into the chamber. Summer leans forward slightly in defensive anticipation, gripping her sword in front of her with both hands.

Before Ruby can act on her moment of clarity, however, Summer suddenly turns around, hopping backward a short distance away from where you're lying on the ground. Ruby's gaze narrows and then flits to you in response, just in time to see your body twitch once. After a couple moments, you stir slightly and rise slowly to one knee, your head lowered to the ground and obscuring your expression from view.

 _He's getting back up_! The sight gives Ruby an extra burst of confidence, further strengthened when your aura primes itself once more, temporarily flashing a red stream over your body. _Wait… red aura?_ Ruby rises from her stance in confusion, Crimson Rose lowered in front of her waist. _But I thought his aura was blue…_

You raise your hand above your head, and the two redheads watch as the red aura flares into view around your arm. Then, it flows up your arm to your outstretched hand and begins to extend in a thick line away from your hand. Once the line has grown to about three feet, your hand suddenly clenches around it, causing the line to erupt into a yellow light while also growing three times in length. Then, almost a quickly as it happened, the light fades away to reveal a massive ten-foot black great sword, which you have no problem holding despite the weapon's massive size. You then rise to a standing position while allowing the sword to lower down to your side, and Ruby's finally able to see your face as you train your gaze onto Summer. The cuts and blood are still there, but one thing stands out to her above that- your eyes are red instead of silver.

 _What…?_ Ruby's completely perplexed at this subtle change in detail. _His eyes and aura are different… why?_

Sudden movement from Summer pulls Ruby back into the present as she swings her stance sideways and brings her sword behind her, aiming to hit you from over fifteen feet away with the chain blade. She doesn't get a chance to do anything else as you grasp onto her forearm from behind, briefly locking her arm in place in front of you, her blade held inches away from the side of your face.

"Hmph. Too slow." The words come from your mouth, but your voice is completely different, sounding deeper and even carrying a different accent (A/N: British, in this case). You swing your arm over your head and slam her into the ground with enough force to leave behind an imprint of her body in the ground. Ruby blinks her eyes several times in disbelief, surprised by your apparent teleportation even though she knew it's because of inhuman speed. The impact rips a scream of pain from Summer and forces her to release her grip on her sword. After a brief pause, you then throw her into the air several feet by her arm before slashing downward as if you were serving a tennis ball, your weapon's length easily closing the gap and spiking Summer head-first towards the same boulder you crashed against earlier. Despite the boulder being over forty feet away from where you struck her, the tremendous force you hit her with sends her crashing into the large stone in less than a second, the impact completely obliterating it into a million pieces. Summer's body slams into the ground and drills along the surface, her body finally stopping after carving a twenty-foot long crevice in the ground behind the remains of the shattered stone.

The entire ordeal leaves behind a dense cloud of dust and debris that shields the devastating results of the single attack from you and Ruby. Your expression, still covered in blood, remains neutral, your eyes half-closed in neutral concentration, focused on the cloud of dust shielding your target from sight, while Ruby's eyes and mouth are both wide open, her mind desperately trying to make a sane evaluation of the five seconds that just transpired before her eyes. Before she can devote much concentration to a sound explanation, her attention is drawn back to you when you hold your sword straight up in front of you, placing your palm on the edge of the blade as if to steady it. Simultaneously, a storm of white rose petals comes racing out of the dust cloud just as it vanishes, racing towards you in the same fashion as before.

Before it can reach you, however, your red eyes flash for a moment, and time stops completely, the entire environment grey-scaling and entering a state of limbo as a result- the petal storm is frozen only a few feet away from you, you're frozen holding your sword out in front of you, and Ruby's frozen with a look of alarm on her face, her arm outstretched towards you as if to try and warn you. After several seconds pass, you slowly begin turning around with your sword coming down to hover over your shoulder, everything else remaining in limbo. After a moment, you turn once more and step forward, slashing your sword downward in front of you while flash-stepping through the petal storm unharmed, stopping in a kneeling position a few feet behind Summer's attack, looking at the ground.

A few more moments pass, and the surrounding environment regains its original color, the limbo effect subsiding as time resumes its course. Instantly, the petal storm continues in its original direction to where you were standing an instant ago, only to immediately falter and start to collapse on itself. Simultaneously, Ruby calls out a warning to you, completely unaware that the limbo effect even occurred in the first place.

"Look out!" As soon as the words leave her mouth, her mind processes your change in location, and she blinks a few times in confusion. She watches the petals converge back into Summer's original form, who falls face-first in pain next to the spot you slammed her into earlier, aura flickering into view as it falls dangerously low. Her gaze then flicks to the right as you lift your gaze off the ground, your head movement catching her eye, then turn over your shoulder to face Summer once more.

Summer slowly gets up to her hands and knees, then spots her sword laying next to her and grabs hold of it, jabbing the blade into the ground to help leverage her to her feet. Before she finishes getting back on her feet, you start channeling aura from your arm into your sword, the red wave pattern extending to cover the entirety of the massive blade just as Summer finishes getting off of the ground. Pulling her sword out of the ground, she turns around and grips her sword in front of her defensively while you raise your own weapon to shoulder height, pulling your shoulder back as if to prepare a stab with your weapon.

Summer lowers her stance closer to the ground in response, hoping to be able to block another one of your lightning-fast attacks, but you remain unmoving, your massive blade still alight with aura. Then, after several suspenseful moments pass, you thrust your sword forward while remaining in place. Your sword immediately begins to extend rapidly, the blade becoming thinner as the tip races towards Summer at high speeds. Summer brings her sword up to parry the weapon, concentrating her aura towards the front to help withstand the blow better.

Ruby's breath catches in her throat as she watches your sword continue extending, easily covering the gap between you and Summer with murderous intent while thinning to the width of your finger. The sound of metal impacting metal resounds throughout the cliffside, but Summer doesn't move after the impact. Ruby looks at her sword, her eyes widening in surprise as she realizes that Summer didn't block your sword. Instead, it sheared right through the middle of Summer's weapon, impaling her in the heart and protruding out of her back by a few inches.

Summer's stance slackens, her hands letting go of the sword and hanging limp at her sides, her sword still stuck in place on your blade. A soft yellow light begins to spread from her fatal wound to her entire body while her sword flashes a similar light briefly before vanishing into thin air. You pull your sword out of Summer's chest, letting her fall to her knees. The aura covering the sword's blade extends to the hilt, covering the entirety of the insanely massive weapon from view, before flowing back into your arm, the weapon having turned back into the aura you formed it from.

After a few more seconds, the light finishes covering Summer's body before beginning to shrink down to a dot the size of a tennis ball. You approach the dot and reach out to it with your hand before lightly closing your fist around the dot, feeling a hard, gem-like texture in your hand. Turning your palm upward, you gaze at a white rectangular crystal identical to the one in your pocket before placing it in the same location as the first.

Ruby slowly approaches you as you pocket the second key, a sleuth of questions running loose in her mind, but before she can ask anything, your red aura flickers into view briefly before fizzing out, the sound of static accompanying it, informing Ruby that your red aura is no longer surrounding your body. Immediately, your hand shoots up to your head, and you fall onto your back, clutching your head as the blood rushes to it painfully.

"(Y/N)!" Ruby cries out, immediately rushing to your side and dropping to her knees to try and help you. At the same time, a figure in the distance in a black suit and tie allows the sword that is in his hand to fade into white light, his body soon following suit. The light briefly illuminates the nearby trees a smidge brighter, which catches Ruby's eyes, but when she turns to observe the sudden change, nothing's there. Her attention is drawn back to you when you let out a quiet groan. "Are you okay?"

"Just... gotta wait for... the dizziness... to go away," you rasp between heavy breaths. Ruby notices that the cuts on your face have started to slowly trickle blood again, though not as much as when you were hit by the petal storm. Her eyes dart back and forth across your battered body, trying to decide what to do to help you, but you answer that question for her in the next second. You prop yourself up on one elbow- the headache lessening into a soft throb- and extend one hand upward.

"Help me up." Ruby rises from her kneeling position and grabs hold of your hand, hauling you onto your feet, before draping your arm over her shoulders in an attempt to support your weight. You narrow your eyes in a stubborn gaze. "Ruby, I can walk," you say despite your legs slightly shaking from weakness.

"Not like that, you're not," she scolds. You sigh in exasperation, but you don't have the strength to try and prove her otherwise. She guides you away from the massive gash in the ground and back towards the cliff side, where a large pod of light has appeared. The two of you walk into it, and reappear back in the dark room where Ruby was before being transported into the illusion of the cliff side.

Ruby remembers that the blocked passage requires two keys to open, and glances over at you. "You got the other key, right?" You nod your head, and reach into your pocket with your free hand to pull out the two small crystals as Ruby begins to help you back out of the room and through the passageway.

"All that's left now is to open that passageway, and we can leave this place."

"Who did you have to fight?" Her question catches you off guard, and you don't try to hide it as you look at her face with a surprised look. After a brief moment, you sight softly and slide the two crystals back into your pocket. You don't want to tell her who, but that doesn't stop you from giving away a small, cryptic detail.

"Someone I thought was dead." Ruby's eyes widen slightly at the dark and mysterious response, but doesn't press the issue further, knowing that she won't get anywhere with it. _He'll just dodge the question like he always does_. She doesn't ask anymore questions as the two of you trudge on to the cave junction.

* * *

Ifrit's eyes squint slightly as a white light soon flashes into the room, the form of Bahamut soon appearing into view.

 _Something went wrong._ Ifrit can see the look of alarm in Bahamut's eyes and the tension besetting his entire body- Bahamut doesn't try to hide it this time.

"What's got you so worked up?" Ifrit quips, hopping off of the chamber's pedestal yet again as Bahamut intrudes on the comforting silence a second time. "They didn't die, did they?"

"I thought you could sense what was happening in the trials," Bahamut growls, irritation flowing out of him in waves, which is made worse when Ifrit shakes his head in denial.

"An extra precaution to ensure I don't try to intervene," he explains with a shrug of his shoulders. "Did they die?" he repeats.

"No… it's worse than that…" Bahamut growls ominously, to which Ifrit perks an eyebrow in darkened curiosity. Instead of bluntly saying what is was, Bahamut thrusts his arm out in front of him and turns his palm upward to the rocks above them. A small image of you catching Summer's arm behind her back blinks into view in a flash of white light, and Ifrit draws in a sharp breath when his eyes come to rest on the massive sword in your other hand.

"Are you sure it was _him_?" The same apprehension that Bahamut's feeling is now flowing throughout Ifrit's own consciousness.

"Who else wields a sword that big?" Bahamut deadpans, and Ifrit narrows his eyes in thought. A long silence consumes the room, just as intense as the tension besetting the two ancient warriors.

"…How much time do we have?" Ifrit questions.

"Eight months," Bahamut answers after a brief pause. "The Transition will happen just before the Vytal Festival, which is why you need to give him the Blessing of Rage now."

"I know…" Ifrit says with a dark tone while turning back around to look at the pedestal, the gravity of the situation hitting him full-force. "You were right… the master's lineage _is_ at stake." Ifrit looks back over his shoulder and gives Bahamut a questioning stare. "I assume you're onboard with giving them an affection mark?"

Bahamut sighs while slowly shaking his head. "I don't agree with it… but the girl can perhaps catalyze Reaper's growing strength, and possibly help postpone the Transition."

A bright light starts to glow from further down the tunnel leading into the chamber, and Bahamut's and Ifrit's gazes are immediately drawn to it. Ifrit grunts once in satisfaction and walks over to the pedestal, sitting down on it. "Show time."

Bahamut doesn't say anymore as he fades into a white light, disappearing from view completely. A few moments later, you and Ruby enter the chamber from within the tunnel, your arm still draped over Ruby's shoulders.

"Hmph, I bet you've seen better days," the Eidolon remarks with narrow eyes from his spot on the pedestal, noticing your blood-covered face and the various slits embedded throughout your outfit. You don't respond at first, instead glancing around the room and noticing something that makes you unhappy. Or rather, the lack of something.

"I thought you said this would be the exit," you growl despite your weakened state. "Enough games, show us the way out already!" The pyrrhic warrior swings his legs out to the side and hops off the pedestal, completely relaxed.

"I will, but first, I don't think we've introduced ourselves," he remarks, tilting his head forward in a gesture for you to start. You share a glance with Ruby for a moment before conceding to the Eidolon's request.

"(Y/N) Reaper."

"Ruby Rose."

The Eidolon bows his head slightly in acknowledgement before responding with his own name. "I am Ifrit, the Hellfire Demon, and the Eidolon of this Conglomerate Chamber," he says, introducing himself.

"So, Ifrit… how do we leave?" you ask, wanting nothing more than to get back to Beacon with no more complications. Ifrit places his hand on top of the pedestal in response.

"Let your aura flow into the pedestal, and the wall behind me will open up into a tunnel straight to the surface," he explains, but holds his hand out as you and Ruby start to step forward. "Hold on, that's not all it does." You both stop in your tracks as the Eidolon continues.

"In years past, your ancestors came to this chamber in order to prove their strength and their worth," he starts, glancing at the pedestal as he continues. "However, even if they passed the trial that you two just endured and made it to this central chamber, the decision to allow them to claim this essence of my will was ultimately my decision." Ifrit places his hand on the pedestal, and the object gives off a faint glow upon contact. "The power to call forth the mystical blue flames that embody the wrath of the user... the Blessing of Rage."

He takes his hand off of the pedestal and looks straight at you and Ruby. "I haven't let anyone claim it in four-thousand years." Both yours and Ruby's eyes widen in disbelief as Ifrit lets loose this piece of information to your minds.

 _Four-thousand years?! He's gotta be joking!_ you both think simultaneously. Ifrit notes your reactions and smirks slightly before continuing.

"Well, at least that pattern ends today." Ifrit takes a few steps back from the pedestal and gestures to it with one hand. "Step forward. Place your hand on the Blessing Centrifuge, receive the Blessing of Rage, and be the first of this age to wield a power equivalent to that of magic itself."

You and Ruby share a glance before she starts to slowly guide you towards the pedestal, still too weak to walk on your own. Once you're within arm's reach of the pedestal, you slowly extend a slightly-shaky hand towards the pedestal, your breathing now ragged from both anticipation and weakness from your most recent fight. You take a large breath before allowing your hand to rest on the pedestal.

Immediately, a blue energy starts to flow from the pedestal up your arm and into your very being; at the same time, a small black glyph appears on both yours and Ruby's upper right backs, unknown to the both of you. After about five or six seconds, the energy stops flowing out of the pedestal, and the pedestal gives off a small hum as the soft light's it's giving off fades away, returning to just being a regular old stone. At the same time, a light begins to open at the far end of the chamber, and a part of the wall fades away to reveal a tunnel that leads straight to the surface, this one devoid of any of the dust crystals that have been peppered around the entirety of the Conglomerate Chamber, a draft of warm early-autumn air accompanying it into the cold stone chamber.

You retract your arm from the pedestal, and gaze at your hand, various knowledge of how to utilize this newfound power interjecting itself into your mind. After a few moments, you allow your arm to relax and fall to your side, and stare at Ifrit with a neutral gaze.

"I expected that to be more grandiose." Ifrit sighs softly and shrugs his shoulders, though the smirk on his face is now even more apparent.

"Wait until you use the Blessing in combat," he comments, secretly impatient to see when you'll use your newfound strength in battle. "That's where the real fireworks are." He turns around and stares at the exit, narrowing his eyes at the change in light. "Time's returned to its normal flow now. You'd better go."

You try to step forward without Ruby's help, but receiving the Blessing of Rage sapped even more of your remaining strength without you realizing it, and the only thing that stops you from an embarrassing face plant is the speed fighter catching you under the shoulder, once again supporting your weight.

"Don't even think about it," she warns lightheartedly, and the only thing you can do in response is breathe heavily and fall into a weakened daze, barely holding on to consciousness as she helps guide you through the tunnel towards the exit.

* * *

Footsteps from behind them immediately draw Team RWBY's and Team JNPR's attention to the edge of the clearing where they saw the figure in a suit and tie collect yours and Ruby's weapons, and they all turn around to see Ruby helping you walk towards them. Yang immediately runs forward and catches her younger sister in a bear hug, not even noticing you at first due to her overwhelming relief at seeing Ruby safe and virtually unharmed.

"Ruby!"

"Ack!" The air is immediately crushed from her lungs and her grip of you falters to Yang's forceful embrace, causing you to drop to the ground and let out a soft groan in response, the impact finally doing you in and causing you to lose consciousness completely. Everyone crowds around Ruby, failing to notice you collapsing onto the ground as Yang releases the scythe wielder from the hug but keeps her grip on her shoulders.

"Are you okay? What happened? Where were you?"

"I'm fine Yang, but-" Ruby stops mid-sentence as she finally realizes that she's no longer supporting your weight, and looks on the ground beside her, noticing your collapsed form. Everyone else does as well, and Yang kneels down first, her lilac eyes now red with anger.

"Alright (Y/N), nap time's over!" Yang says as she grabs your shoulder and rolls you over, intending to wake you up and get some answers out of you.

"Yang, wait!" Ruby orders as she places an alarmed hand on Yang's shoulder, but she doesn't listen.

"Now tell me where you took-" Yang's eyes see the cuts and blood on your face and stops her tirade before it even begins, alarm and confusion quickly filling everyone's mind. "What the…"

"What happened?" Jaune and Nora say at the same time, Jaune crouching down to one knee to get a better look at your face.

"I'll tell you later. We need to help him back to Beacon, fast!" Ruby exclaims, reaching down to try and pick you up, but Pyrrha beats her to the act, picking you up in her arms bridal-style, while Ruby starts to job back in the direction of Beacon. Everyone begins to rush back to Beacon after Ruby, hoping to make it back quickly before anyone notices their absence.

At the opposite end of the clearing, Bahamut and Ifrit are crouched down behind a bush that's had its top sliced clean off, watching the whole exchange before the group of students scurry off towards Beacon Academy with you in tow.

"You did link them with an affection mark, didn't you?" Bahamut queries, addressing the Hellfire Demon once the two teams of students were out of eyesight and earshot.

"Yes- I slipped it into the Blessing Centrifuge along with the Blessing," he explains, staring at the area where your peers disappeared out of sight. "By the time winter rolls around, they'll basically be glued to each other." Ifrit stands up and looks in the other direction, a thoughtful expression revealing his current disposition. "We need to get him to Shiva next."

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Ifrit," Bahamut warns, standing up and placing a complacent hand on his old friend's shoulder. "(Y/N) needs time to master the Blessing of Rage before he acquires the Blessing of Patience, and even more time to allow the affection mark to take full effect. For now, we wait."


	5. Chapter 4: Past Darkness

The evening sun shines through the massive window in Ozpin's office- despite the skies being peppered with clouds- as you sit across from the Headmaster's desk, completely contrasting the tense atmosphere as you recap your experience inside Ifrit's Conglomerate Chamber to the Headmaster, telling him why you were brought back to Beacon bloody and battered. You'd spent the entirety of the day leading up to now recovering in the infirmary, but your wounds are now completely healed. Almost immediately after you left the infirmary, Ozpin intercepted you on your way to your dorm and brought you to his office to explain everything.

"I see," Ozpin comments as you finish explaining everything that happened that morning, his face displaying a ponderous expression as he takes a sip out of his coffee mug. "So you have the Blessing?"

"I think so," you respond, your hands folded on your lap in a form of concentration. "When I touched that stone, I saw images of other people using blue flames in battle."

Ozpin hums softly in response, processing everything you just told him. _It's been thousands of years since someone last had an Eidolon's Blessing, and now (Y/N) has one…_ He types a few notes into the holoscreen projected onto his desk before nodding his head at you. "That's all the questions I have. You may go." You stand up and nod your head in acknowledgment before walking towards the center elevator at the back of the office, the elevator doors closing behind you to take you down to the bottom of the tower.

Ten minutes later, you ascend the staircase up into the hallway where your dorm room is when a massive spike of pain strikes your head instantaneously.

"Gah!" you yelp in surprise as you fall to one knee and clutch your head, clenching your teeth to try and bear through the piercing headache. _Already!? It's only been three days!_ The pain continues attacking your consciousness for another ten seconds before fading away into nothingness. As you replant your foot to stand back up, you notice that someone's hand is placed on your shoulder in a gesture of concern.

"Are you okay?" Ruby's concerned voice reaches your ears as you stand up, her hand retracting itself from your shoulder as you turn to meet her questioning gaze.

"I'm fine," you reassure as you start to walk away from the door leading to the stairwell and towards your dorm room, Ruby walking next to you in step to continue the conversation.

"Why do you keep getting those headaches?"

"To be honest, I'm not sure," you say as you rub the side of your head to get rid of any traces of the headache. "It's just something I've lived with for a-" You stop mid-sentence as you notice from several feet away that your dorm room is open, though the light is turned off.

"Why's my door open?" You speed up your walking pace until you've reached your dorm room, and your eyebrows rise in surprise at what you see- the door that you thought was just hanging open isn't attached to the door frame anymore. Instead, it's lying in the middle of your bed, which is broken into a shallow V-shape where the edge of the door is positioned.

"What happened in here!?" you shout in anger and disbelief, slowly walking forward into your room to inspect the damage closer. _I'm definitely not sleeping in that!_

Ruby is as equally perplexed as you are, but before she can comment on the damage, both of you hear a sheepish chuckle from where the door should be, and you both turn around to see Yang standing there with her hand behind her head in an embarrassed manner, Weiss and Blake flanking her.

"My bad." The sheepish look vanishes from Yang's face in the next moment, and she adopts a defensive expression as she explains. "Ruby was missing, and you weren't answering the door, so I thought-"

"That I kidnapped her?" You don't allow her to finish her sentence, anger seething from you in waves. "What do you take me for, a crook!? Why would you think I'd do that!?"

"What else am I supposed to think!?" Yang counters, her eyebrows furrowed in frustration yet retaining their lilac color. "There's no reason why Ruby would follow you out to the forest on her own, so you must've talked her into it!"

"I didn't even know she followed me until I was at that clearing for a while!" you retort, your frustration steadily rising alongside Yang's with each passing second. "Besides, she's perfectly capable of handling herself- she doesn't need you hovering over her every passing second of the day!"

"She's my sister!" Yang finally screams, eyes turning red and breathing turning heavy as her anger finally reaches a peak. You have no response this time- you and Yang never got along on anything for the past week you've been at Beacon, but you do at least understand that she's protective of her sister, even if her sister is the team leader.

A terse silence envelopes the room, brewed by the rather-personal confrontation between you and Yang, further catalyzed by Yang's emotional outburst. The sun becomes covered up by the dark clouds in the sky, the change in atmosphere outside contributing to the change in atmosphere inside your dorm room.

After several more seconds of prolonged silence, Yang lets out a controlled exhale, her eye color returning to their normal lilac color. "I know that she can handle herself… but you're already regarded as one of Beacon's strongest," she begins explaining, and you raise an eyebrow in response, not knowing what point she's trying to make. "So when Ruby returned to that field with you covered in blood and cuts…" Yang shakes her head to eliminate the dark train of thought threatening to start rolling along her mind, and when she speaks again, you can see a trace of fear in her eyes.

"I don't want to know what you two were up against that could do something like that to you." The fear lingers for a moment longer in her eyes, vanishing as she stares straight into your eyes. "I've lost enough family already… I refuse to lose another loved one," she declares, her gaze full of absolute conviction.

You finally understand why she's so protective of Ruby and why she was so quick to accuse you about this morning, but that still doesn't explain her earlier hostility from the days leading up to today.

 _Why does she think I'm a threat to Ruby? Something's not adding up here._ You narrow your eyes slightly and tilt your head forward in an accusing manner, almost in a form of diplomatic tact. "So you don't trust me because I'm a threat to Ruby?" You know that's not the truth, but you hope the question draws out the real reason for Yang's hostility towards you.

"I would trust you if you weren't sneaking off all the time," Yang clarifies, sweeping her hand to the side as if to deny someone a request. "You're always sneaking off campus and you never tell anyone why, as if you've got something to hide- it's hard to trust someone like that around my sister."

"Well, I'd be contradicting myself if my purpose for coming to Beacon was something over than becoming a Huntsman, so I think that already makes me trustworthy on its own," you state, pointing to the ground, gesturing to Beacon itself, to accentuate your point. "The only problem here is your overprotectiveness of your team leader." At this point, your frustration has reached its boiling point.

"She was in danger with you this morning, so I'm justified- she could've been killed by whatever landed you in the infirmary!" Yang is at the point of yelling again, but still manages to keep her temper under control. "I don't trust you because you're too secretive, and I refuse to lose any more of my family!" You open your mouth to continue arguing with her, but her next statement stops you short. "You wouldn't understand what I'm feeling, and you won't understand why I'm so protective of Ruby! You didn't have family ripped away from you like we had!"

Her words trigger a flashback in your mind: the acrid tang of smoke from a burning village, people running away or getting killed by shadowy cloaked figures, the feeling of immense fear in your mind, a pair of shattered longswords… Your frustration evaporates as your mind is unwillingly caught in your own past, your face wide-eyed, your body shaking, and your breath ragged and heavy. You blink after a few more moments, and the flashback vanishes.

Everyone in Team RWBY share a quick glance, easily noticing your reaction to Yang's last statement, Yang especially feeling a twinge of guilt crawl up her spine for triggering such a reaction. She wants to start apologizing, but you speak before she does.

"At least you still have a family… You don't know what it's like to lose everything…" Yang's apology dies in her throat at this. You don't say anything else as you trudge past Yang out into the hallway. No one in Team RWBY dares to move a muscle for at least five seconds, until Ruby moves to the room's threshold, just in time to see the door to the hallway's staircase quietly swing shut on its own. Ruby casts a glance back at Yang, the unspoken apology written clear-as-day on her face.

"I didn't know…" Yang starts, still in shock from your reaction like the rest of her team.

"I know, Yang." Ruby pulls Yang into a quick hug and buries her head in the older sister's shoulder comfortingly, both sisters briefly closing their eyes during the sincere gesture. After a few more seconds, Ruby releases the hug and turns back around to the door. She wants to comfort her older sibling more… _But…_ "I'll talk to him, Yang," she says, turning over her shoulder and walking out the door. The black glyph on Ruby's shoulder, unknown to anyone present in the room, begins to glow a soft pink, though it's too soft to be noticed through her outfit.

* * *

She doesn't know why, but Ruby had a feeling she'd find you on the dormitory roof. Opening the door and stepping out of the stairwell, Ruby sees you laying on your back staring up at the stars, hands tucked behind your head and one knee propped up towards the dark clouds blanketing the skies, your weapons lying off to your side in an orderly pile.

"How is it you always find me?" you ask without taking your eyes off of the darkening skies. Ruby walks over to where you're laying and sits down criss-cross next to you, opting to look at the sprawling city of Vale instead of the gloomy sky above.

"Luck," she answers simply after a moment of silence, prompting a grunt of contempt from you.

"Hmph. There's no such thing as luck," you state, glancing away from the sky towards Ruby, who's still staring at Vale. You narrow your eyes as Ruby sighs.

"We've never been outside of Vale, y'know?" she says, causing you to raise an eyebrow in guarded curiosity.

"Really… you've never tried to see what's beyond those walls?" you ask. In response, Ruby raises an arm and points her finger at a small island on the horizon.

"We grew up there." She lowers her arm back down to her lap. "Kinda hard to explore outside of Vale when you're living on an island," she states with a chuckle, and you grunt in agreement while returning your gaze skyward.

"Wouldn't there be passenger ships to bring people to and from the island?" you ask.

"There are, but I wasn't allowed to go to the city until last year," she explains. You raise yourself to a sitting position, keeping one arm planted on the roof while draping the other across your propped-up knee, and glance back at Ruby, who's still staring at the island.

"Yet you're at Beacon the very next year," you say. "Sixteen years on an island must get pretty boring pretty quickly."

"Fourteen," Ruby says, correcting you while also turning her gaze towards you for the first time in that conversation. "I'm fifteen years old." You raise your eyebrow again at this, but this time out of surprise.

"Huh, and here I thought that you just looked young- makes me wonder what you'll look like as an old lady."

"Hey!" Ruby protests, jokingly pretending to be insulted while you wave your hand dismissively.

"I jest," you state nonchalantly while Ruby puffs out her cheeks in response to your implication. "But still, how did you end up in Beacon two years early?"

"I fought a crime lord after he robbed a dust store. That's when I met Professor Goodwitch, who introduced me to Professor Ozpin," Ruby explains, giving you the short version of the night she was offered an early attendance at Beacon. "How'd you get in early?"

The question makes you raise both eyebrows in surprise. _Did she really just ask that?_

Ruby notices your change of expression, and after a brief moment meditating over what she asked, facepalms loudly. _Did I really just ask that?_

"Dumb question," you comment simply while turning your gaze toward the city, Ruby puffing out her cheeks in defiance again. "So where'd you learn to fight?"

"Signal Academy," Ruby answers, glancing back at the island she grew up on.

"Where's that?" you ask, not noticing her looking at the island.

"Patch."

"Patch?" you ask, not knowing where that it is.

"The island," Ruby elaborates.

"Oh."

"Dumb question." This time its Ruby's turn to take a verbal jab at you.

"You never told me the island's name," you explain slightly defensively, and the two of you fall back into several moments of silence. Eventually, Ruby resumes the conversation.

"So… where did _you_ learn to fight?" she asks, and you narrow your eyes and tense your face as if you'd just pricked your finger on a cactus.

 _Should've seen that one coming._ You sigh as you try to dodge the question again. "I learned how to fight as I travelled around from village to village."

"Nope," Ruby quips immediately, and you raise an eyebrow at her.

"No?"

"Nope," Ruby says again, turning her gaze away from Patch and towards you. "You're not telling me the truth."

"What makes you say that?" you ask, hoping that her train of thought is not heading where you think it's going.

"Someone had to have taught you," Ruby explains. "Everyone is taught by someone, so who taught you? "

Finally, you sigh in defeat. _It's not like she's around to tell me otherwise…_ You look up to the darkened skies as you collect your thoughts. "My teacher, Melinda, had a strict training regime- I was eleven at the time, so it was especially strict for me." You narrow your eyes as a lightning bolt slashes amidst the clouds briefly, a clap of thunder echoing throughout the air. "Training went from dawn 'till dusk with very small breaks for food, water, and other situations that warrant a break. She taught me hand-to-hand combat first, then knife-handling, then sword-fighting..." You avert your gaze from the sky back over to Ruby, who's listening intently to you. "All in the span of a single month."

"One month?" Ruby echoes in disbelief. "It took me a few years to get where I am- it only took you a month?"

"One month," you confirm, turning your gaze toward the city of Vale. "But like I said, she had a strict training regime- other people tried to train under her in the past, but ended up quitting after the first week, and her training program was supposed to last about six months."

Ruby tilts her head to the side. "Six months? But you just said you did it in one."

"Well, no…" you correct, slowly shaking your head and glancing to the side at the scythe user. "I only made it through the first month of her training." Your gaze turns away from Ruby and comes to rest on the ground beneath your raised knee. "Then, there was an… accident," you state simply.

"Accident…?" Ruby slowly echoes. _I don't like where this is going…_

"I grew up in a small village in Mistral- most of the people living there were Faunus, with the exception of two families, including my own. Tensions between humans and Faunus were a problem in Mistral at the time, but my home seemed to be the exception- everyone knew each other, and everyone was friends with everyone- at least, the adults were."

As you explain this, Ruby unconsciously gulps. _Something happened between him and the Faunus there? I_ really _don't like where this is going…_ Regardless, she doesn't interrupt you as you continue your story.

"However, the children didn't get along with me very well. The other human family's child had already grown up to an adult, so I was the only human child in the village. Every group of kids always has that one person that they don't get along with, and I was that kid. Back then, I was an innocent, optimistic child- I obeyed my parents and I hardly ever got into trouble. The other Faunus children, however, were mostly troublemakers. They'd tease and make fun of me, ridicule me, and talk down on me whenever I did something I was proud of or tried to become their friend, and for the life of me, I couldn't figure out why."

"Didn't their parents do something about their behavior?" Ruby asks, eyes slightly narrowed in disapproval. "I usually didn't have a good rest of the day if I got caught doing what I wasn't supposed to at home."

"Of course they did," you state with a slight level of contempt. "Especially if I was the focus of their misdeeds, but no matter what chores they had to do or how many days they were grounded for, their behavior never changed."

"Then, an Ursa strayed too close to the village. Our alarm was only brief; Teach- I mean, Melinda- was already there after a few moments, and she killed it quickly and effortlessly. To the villagers, it was just another Grimm that she killed. To me, however, it was the coolest thing in the world."

"So you asked her to train you?" Ruby asks, secretly relieved that her earlier assumption was wrong.

"Mm," you grunt in affirmation. "The other kids had constantly told me that I wasn't special, and since all of them were Faunus, that they could do things that I couldn't. I was desperate to gain a skill or knowledge that would prove them otherwise. At first, she didn't agree because of my young age, but after I kept insisting, she agreed." Your gaze shifts from the ground over to your left, where your knives and Wind Reaper are lying a few feet away. "Like I said earlier, the training was brutal- I wanted to throw in the towel more times than I could count." Your hand closes into a fist and your eyes narrow at the experience of your past. "Then, the other kids would pick on me again- told me I was too soft to learn how to fight, told me I wasn't strong enough…"

You return your gaze back towards Ruby, and she's slightly surprised by the level of bitterness in your gaze. "They told me I was only a human," you growl, completely immersed in your past. "That angered me, and sometimes I wanted to use what I was learning to teach them a lesson, but I didn't. Instead, I just strengthened my resolve to get through the rigorous training, and by the end of the first month, I was completely adjusted to the strict schedule that was enforced on me. By that point, I'd resolved to calling her 'Teacher' as constant proof of my commitment to my training."

 _I only made it through the first month of her training. Then there was an… accident._ Your words echo through Ruby's thoughts, and her breathing slows down slightly in anxiety. _Then what?_

The bitterness in your gaze hardens as you continue your story. "Then, a group of bandits attacked our village. Teacher, myself, and our town's strongest people eventually drove them away, but the damage was already done. The bandits took a lot of our food and supplies, slaughtered a few people, and left a third of our village a burning mess. Teacher followed them as they fled and told everyone else to stay put. I got hurt mid-fight, so I just went back to my house to rest."

You pause briefly, taking a fraction of a moment in time to decide to leave out your most hated part of that story, which goes unnoticed by Ruby, who just thinks that you stuttered slightly from having to recap a severely emotional story.

"Meanwhile, the chaos, panic, and confusion immediately attracted the Grimm. I just hid in my house, which was still intact after the raid, but a Nevermore landed on top of it and caused the house to collapse- I got knocked out by a falling wooden support." You continue your story a little more slowly due to the negativity brought about from the story, a growl edging your speech. "When I woke up, at least another third of the village was destroyed, with many of the adults strewn about the village, dead- including my parents. A few villagers did survive, though, along with all the children and myself."

Your gaze returns to your weapons, and unwillingly, a flashback envelopes your mind, only lasting a few seconds.

* * *

 _The acrid tang of smoked wood, the unpleasant odor of the dead, the confusion of such a quick unfortunate string of events, the dull throb of a subsided concussion- they occupy your mind as you stagger through the center of the village in a dazed state- the center of the village was surrounded by houses and buildings that were completely destroyed, a water fountain still intact in the center of the area. Several of the other Faunus children were gathered around the fountain, along with a few of their adults. The bodies of the dead were also being gathered there, so that the adults could determine who was actually dead and who was just unconscious._

" _(Y/N)." One of the children next to the fountain, a wolf Faunus with wolf ears, black hair, and brown eyes, waves at you in a gesture for you to go over to him, with another kid sitting nearby. "Are you hurt?" he asks as you approach the group. The other kids usually never help you or show concern for you, but considering what just happened, people aren't their usual selves._

" _I got hit in the head," you groan as you sit down next to him. "And I don't see Teacher anywhere." You narrow your eyes at him- instead of his usual demeaning gaze, the boy's sporting a neutral expression with red eyes, resulting from having cried the previous hour. "No insults this time?"_

" _It's a bad time to tell jokes," he responds, slightly shaking his head in disapproval._

Jokes, huh? _you think bitterly as the boy stops shaking his head._

" _What about your parents?" the first boy asks. The question instantly sends a small spark of irritation and sadness through your body._

" _I don't want to talk about it," you reply quickly, and he concedes the topic to silence. "What about your parents, Redmond?" A look of sadness sneaks onto Redmond's expression, his posture slumping over in depression._

" _A bandit killed Dad, and a Nevermore carried away Mom…" he responds, a lone tear escaping one of his eyes. You feel a sense of pity for him. Redmond may pick on you with the rest of the others, but he always stopped before the 'joke' turned dark- he never took it as far as the other kids did, and you appreciated that, even if you never told him that._

" _I'm scared…" his sister softly whines, looking up at Redmond with a visage full of fear. "What do we do without Mommy and Daddy?"_

" _Don't cry, Valerie," Redmond says comfortingly, pulling his younger sister into a hug. "We'll be okay, I promise- we have our friends to help us."_

 _You don't say anything as Redmond continues to comfort his sister, instead opting to meditate on your current situation. When they break up from the hug, the three of you sit there in silence trying to think of anything other than the past four hours. Several minutes later, an anguished wail from the other side of the fountain sets the hairs on the back of your neck on end, and you, Redmond, and Valerie stand up to see what the commotion is. You see a tiger Faunus with black stripes running along his orange-and-white skin that's about two years older than you and Redmond hunched over another body that an adult just brought in from somewhere else around the village. It's missing an arm, and huge claw marks are scored across the dead man's chest. Redmond's the first to comment on it._

" _That's August's father," he says, shocked. August's father was the village chieftain, the best fighter out of all the villagers, with the exception of Melinda, and the most respected person in the entire village- even the adults have a look of defeat on their eyes as they all move out of the fountain area to look for more bodies or survivors. "I don't believe it…"_

 _Even you're shocked by this- you were never friends with August, but you did admire his father a great deal. Redmond slowly walks around the fountain to where August is grieving, Valerie following closely behind him. You stay standing where you are, your mind an emotional train wreck that's still going strong as you watch Redmond kneel down next to August and try to counsel him._

" _What did we do to deserve this?" you say to no one in particular out of defeat, turning your bruised and cut hands upward as if you'd just killed someone. "Why did this happen to us?"_

" _This happened because of you!" Your head snaps up from your hands to see a grief-stricken August standing up and glaring at you with a look of hatred in his brown eyes and his teeth bared in aggression, keeping one hand planted on the edge of the fountain for support. The accusation shocks you greatly, and you widen your eyes and take a step backward in response._

" _W…What? I didn't do anything!" you yell in shocked protest, and you're not the only one bewildered at this- Redmond, along with all of the other children gathered at the fountain, share a similar expression on their faces._

" _August, what are you talking about?" Redmond asks, astounded at his best friend's ridiculous claim._

" _I saw you fight the bandits," he growls, tightening his grip on the fountain edge. "Melinda told everyone to stay here, but you weren't here! You must have tried to follow her, but couldn't, and ended up leading the Grimm back here! Admit it!" Spit flies out of his mouth as he screams, maddening rage completely taking over his mind during his tirade._

" _I didn't!" you protest as you take another step back. "I was hurt fighting the bandits, so I went back to my house!" August clenches his teeth and growls loudly at this, beginning to walk along the fountain towards you, but no longer leaning on it for support due to his anger._

" _Stop lying! You were her student, so you thought you could handle it!" August starts to walk faster towards you as you start backing away along the other side of the fountain in fear, the distance between the two of you closing rapidly. "You're so arrogant! You keep trying to prove that you're special, but you're not! We've been telling you that for years, but you don't listen!"_

 _August finally closes the gap between the two of you, and you stop moving back, the fear in your body paralyzing you and locking you in place. The only things that keep moving are your thudding heartbeat and fearful eyes, which are glued to the tiger Faunus right in front of you._

" _You're just like all the other humans, always trying to decide what's best for everyone else and acting all high and mighty because you think you're above the consequences… Well you're not!" August takes a couple steps forward so that you're between him and the fountain, a good foot of space between the two of you. "You don't know anything, and now you've gotten most of us killed, you bastard!"_

 _August lifts his foot up in front of him and slams it into your chest as hard as he can, the impact barreling you into the fountain with a loud splash and forcing the breath out of your lungs. Your head resurfaces above the half-foot deep water and you begin coughing from both the impact and some water getting down your throat, shifting onto your knees and planting your hands on the stone bottom of the fountain to keep your head above the water as you cough up water and get some air back into your chest. August just stands there, the same look of rage now mixed in with a new sense of small satisfaction on his face, and stares down at you condescendingly._

 _A few more seconds of sputtering ensues before you finally get some of your breath back, shifting your hands around the base of the fountain as you take large breaths. Your hand brushes against something hard and moves it somewhat, momentarily catching your attention. You look down at your hand and see something long and shiny next to it, and you grab it with your hand and bring it up above the water level so that you can see it clearly._

" _Teacher's…" you choke out, the hand holding the object visibly shaking. She's the only person you know in the village that uses a katana, and now you're holding one exactly like it in your hand- a crack runs down the top half of the blade, and multiple shards of the blade have been chipped off. Several gasps can be heard around the fountain from those who also recognized a weapon that's iconic to them._

 _August snorts in disgust. "Are you proud of yourself, (Y/N)? You even got your stupid teacher killed."_

" _No…" you breathe out, completely in denial. "No… no no no no, this is Teacher we're talking about. No one's stronger than her, there's no way she's dead!" You stand up and hold the hilt with one hand and the blade with the other, your eyes fidgeting back and forth with a look of desperation as you try to think of an explanation for the weapon in your hand, but August doesn't allow you a chance to speak._

" _She's dead, (Y/N)- the evidence is right there in your hands!" You open your mouth to argue desperately, but August raises his voice and stops you before the words can leave your lips. "She's gone!" he roars loudly, your protest drying up in your throat from fear and despair. "Because of_ you _!"_

 _An image of you appears in your subconscious, a beaming smile on your face and a wooden training sword in your hand._ Teacher's…. dead….? _You fall back to your knees, water splashing up against your waterlogged clothes, and stare at the katana resting in your hands. At the same time, the image in your subconscious starts to crack as if you're looking at it through glass._

 _August closes his eyes briefly, his breathing heavy from anger and contempt towards you. "This is all your fault," he growls, opening his eyes again and accenting the last three words of his accusation to emphasize his point. You look back up at the tiger Faunus with a shocked and pleading look._

" _I didn't… I-"_

" _My brother's gone because of you!" Your gaze travels past August to see another cat Faunus standing a few feet behind him, the same look of contempt on the tiger Faunus. Very quickly, the other children begin to join in the verbal spite._

" _Me too!"_

" _Most of our parents are dead!"_

" _Why do you always do stupid things, (Y/N)!?"_

 _Tears begin streaming down your eyes. "I didn't…. I-I swear…" The image of you cracks even further until the whole image is covered in cracks and fractures, but it still remains intact. You notice that Redmond hasn't spoken a word, staring at the ground in front of his feet, and your gaze looks at him pleadingly._

" _Redmond?" The wolf Faunus looks back up at you with a conflicted look, but it quickly turns dark after a few moments._

" _I wish you never existed."_

Crash! _The image of you shatters completely, the old identity and ideals of (Y/N) Reaper dying with the image and leaving a dark emptiness in its place. Your gaze slowly lowers to the katana in your hands, your mind at a complete, emotionless standstill. A voice in your head- not yours, and laced with an accent- starts assessing your circumstances._

Teacher's gone… _Your mind flits back to when the bandits fled the village- to a person in particular. Their outfit is blurry in memory, but two details stand out clearly to you- a white mask and black hair._ He led the bandits…

 _The images change into a scene of your house… Your mother, dead in the kitchen…. Your father, running away from the house…._

 _Your gaze returns up to meet the angry gazes of the Faunus children, who notice the change in your expression and demeanor but are too angry to care._ They're not going to help…

…

…

…

I'm all alone now…

 _Your grip on the katana tightens, another voice entering your mind._ "You decide your own path… Don't ever let anyone else decide it for you." _Teacher's voice lingers in your mind, and your eyes narrow slightly in renewed purpose._

 _Holding the katana one-handed, gaze concentrated on the edge of the village, you slowly rise to your feet, water dripping off of you as you step out of the fountain waters._

" _What are you doing now?" August growls softly as you begin to walk away from the fountain, which gets louder when you don't acknowledge him, continuing to walk away from the fountain. His hand shoots out and grasps your arm to hold you in place, and your eyes narrow in annoyance._

" _I said-" He stops mid-sentence as you turn to the side and, lifting your leg into the air, smash your foot into the center of his face, forcing him to let go of your arm and launching him backward, causing his back to land against the edge of the fountain, the breath instantly vanishing from his lungs in a startled and pained gasp._

 _Several gasps of surprise can be heard from the surrounding children- they've never seen you raise a hand against any of them, never mind slamming your foot into the son of the village chieftain. You turn around and continue walking to the edge of the village, your last acknowledgement of them stated after you take a few steps away from the fountain._

" _I have a vendetta to uphold…"_

* * *

You blink, and the flashback ends. You didn't say anything during the mental recall, but Ruby can tell that you were thinking of something, even though your face was turned away from her.

"Teacher died during the Grimm's attack, and I left the village a day after the attack, with only a farming scythe from my house and a month of training to keep me alive, with no one to support me." You avert your gaze from your weapons back onto the city resting peacefully below the cliff where the protective presence of Beacon resides. While you told your story, the sun had fallen below the horizon, the city of Vale now illuminated by street lights and building rooms.

Ruby's eyes lower to her hands folded in her lap as she processes your story, while you continue gazing at the city for a few more moments. Something crosses your mind, and your eyes dart over to Ruby and narrow slightly. "You didn't come up here just to talk about the past, so what is it?" you say with a pensive gaze. Ruby looks up at you in response, a thoughtful expression on her face as she thinks of an appropriate response to your comment. After a moment of thought, her gaze returns to Patch.

"I'm sorry that you went through that…" she begins, a somber expression on her face. "I understand why you'd be upset at what Yang said in your room…"

You scoff softly at her words. "If you're trying to sympathize with me to make me feel better, don't. You and Yang don't understand what it's like to have nothing left to lose." Ruby shakes her head in response, turning a confident gaze towards you.

"You're right," she declares sternly, causing you to raise an eyebrow in curiosity. "I don't know what it's like to have nothing left to lose…" Your eyes narrow in attentiveness, providing Ruby with your undivided attention as she speaks. She takes a breath, her hands tensing up slightly, before continuing. "But that also means you don't know what it's like to still have something left to lose."

Her words baffle you, and you tilt your head to the side in a confused gesture. Ruby's gaze averts downward in thought to the single foot of space between the two of you. "Yang and I… we still have each other… and the thought of losing her…" Ruby brings her hand up to her chest and clenches it into a fist. "It terrifies me, and I'm sure it terrifies her, too." She takes another breath, closing her eyes briefly. "She'd do anything to make sure we don't lose each other."

Yang's words echo through your mind as Ruby finishing speaking, and your eyes wander to the city as you recall her words. _You wouldn't understand what I'm feeling, and you won't understand why I'm so protective of Ruby!_ _You didn't have family ripped away from you like we had!_

 _Trust me, I know what it's like to have family torn away from me,_ you think as if you were in an imaginary conversation with the fierce-tempered brawler. Then, Ruby's voice interjects itself into your mind.

 _But that also means you don't know what it's like to still have something left to lose._ The declaration slows your train of thought briefly as you meditate on it, trying to imagine your late teacher still alive and well, but no emotions trigger in your mind. You sigh in contemplation. _She's right- I don't know what that's like._

Your attention is drawn back into the present as Ruby stands up from where she's sitting next to you, keeping her gaze trained on you as she continues. "You're not alone anymore, (Y/N)- you've got friends at Beacon now, whether you realize it or not, and we want to help you…" She breaks eye contact with you as her gaze flits downward to the ground between the two of you, a slight tinge of pink showing up on her cheeks.

"… _I_ want to help you…" Your eyes widen slightly in surprise at her words, the subtle insinuation behind her words not lost on you.

…I _want to help you…_ As the words echo once through your mind, the glyph that's concealed on your back starts to softly glow pink, similar to how Ruby's began glowing before she came up to the roof.

Before either of you can continue any further into the moment, a soft yet out-of-place light emanates briefly from Vale's shipping docks- very subtly, albeit, but it's enough to draw both yours and Ruby's gazes cityward, where there's a new orange glow lighting up a small section of the docks of the city for a brief moment, the source of the light obscured from view by one of the area's warehouses, before vanishing.

"What was that?" You're the first to comment on the change in light. It's not light from any street lamp or dock light you know. You rise to your feet and, sharing a glance with Ruby, collect your weapons and head into the dormitory with a sense of curiosity.

* * *

Many warehouses rest in Vale's shipping docks, all storing various deliveries and cargo. One of these warehouses, however, is currently the host of an intruding party- four people are lined up along the back wall of the warehouse in a breaching formation around a decent, circular hole recently carved from the exterior of the warehouse, ready to breach the building. Another four people are positioned behind a flashy Yevon laser drill that emits an orange light upon usage, if only briefly.

Seven of them are all wearing the same outfits and gear- grey, reinforced ceramic helmets conceal their identity, and black colored combat body suits with similarly colored tactical vests adorn the rest of their figures, equipped with two Ailar tactical multi-purpose grenades- TMPs for short- that can toggle between Concussion, Flash-Bang, EMP, and Shockwave, a Uriel tool gun containing a variety of various gadgets and gizmos strictly for the purpose of espionage and data breaching, and several magazines of expensive sound-nulled aura-piercing rounds- SNAP rounds, mainly used for military covert ops due to their low profile and lethal ability to pierce through a person's aura. Each of the seven also bear assault rifles that resemble upgraded Atlesian rifles, and melee weapons adorn their backs, changing in size and variety from agent to agent.

The last one of the group looks and is armed differently from his associates, an air of solid authority encompassing his entire figure- a black, hooded coat extends to cover his body, save for an inch or two exposing his black boots. On his back rests two sheathed katanas positioned in the shape of a cross.

Seeing the Yevon finish cutting a hole in the warehouse, he turns around to the other three agents standing behind him.

"You three, stay here out of sight. If anyone tries to enter the warehouse, kill them." They had severed all of the surveillance systems pertaining to the entire area, so he wasn't worried about police or Huntsmen showing up, but one can never be too careful. The only response the hooded man receives is a subtle nod from each of the addressed operatives before they swiftly move out of sight, opting to take up various concealed positions in sight of the breach. Their exit covered, the man approaches the breach in the warehouse and steps inside, the rest of the team following suit.

* * *

Twenty minutes after seeing the strange light from the docks, you, Ruby, and the rest of her team approach the warehouse that the weird light had emanated behind of. Everyone was curious to see what the light that you and Ruby saw had come from when the both of you returned to her dorm room, and immediately boarded a bullhead at Beacon's landing pads to head into the city- there were no more classes scheduled for today, so there was plenty of time to check out the docks and get back to Beacon before curfew rolls around.

Out of habit, you reach out your senses to try and pick up any other auras that could be in the area, on alert for any potential threats. As your group walks past the right side of the warehouse and rounds the corner to the back of the structure to where the light had come from, you don't feel anything out of the ordinary in terms of other auras in the area. You do, however, see something out of the ordinary behind the warehouse- a decent-sized cylinder mounted on a large tripod, a pair of pincers with a tiny line of orange energy running between them resting on one end, a box with a similar energy line running through it mounted on top of the other end. The device is pointed at the back wall of the warehouse, where a hole the size of a large tire is burned into the face of the building, providing an easy back entrance inside.

Cautiously, you and Team RWBY approach the device, stopping about four feet short from where it rests, and a small tang of burnt metal wafts into your nose.

"What is that?" Blake asks, phrasing the question everyone is thinking aloud. Everyone glances around for a moment before Weiss takes a step forward, noticing a familiar symbol etched onto the side of the device's box.

"It's a Yevon."

"A what?" Ruby asks, dumbfounded, causing Weiss to cast a glance over her shoulder at her team leader with a serious expression, though this time it's devoid of any of its usual exasperation.

"A Yevon- it's a laser drill developed by Atlas," she explains, her eyes containing a hint of worry in them. "They're expensive, too- they're only ever used by big corporations for mining or by the Atlas military. You never find them lying around like this."

"Except this one isn't exactly 'lying around'," you state as you take a few slow steps toward the drill, your eyes fixated on the hole that is burned into the wall of the warehouse.

Suddenly, the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. Your aura flashes to action, and you quickly step to your side, a bullet searing past where your head was a heartbeat ago even though no gunfire could be heard. Within moments, everyone has drawn their weapons and turned their attention to a group of cargo containers a hundred feet behind the Yevon, where a black figure with a grey helmet is lying prone on top of the closest one, a small wisp of smoking trickling out of the barrel of his rifle.

Before anyone can attempt to return fire, you notice a closer pressure above you, and you step to the side again and narrowly avoid getting hit in the head by the heel of another black figure dropping off of the roof of the warehouse, who opted for a drop kick instead of slashing with the longsword in his hand. At the same time, you deliver a solid kick to his back and send the second attacker sailing backwards several feet, but instead of skidding across the ground, he plants his hand onto the concrete and flips backward onto one knee, his sword coming to rest in front of him in a defensive posture. At the same time, a shot whips past him from the masked shooter on the containers towards you, but a quick spin from Wind Reaper catches the bullet short of your chest. Yang immediately preps Ember Celica and fires a shot after the figure you had kicked away, but another shot from the marksman behind him intercepts the attack mid-air, causing it to explode prematurely before it could cover half the distance to its intended target.

Ruby gives Crescent Rose a quick spin around her shoulder and slams the blade into the ground, the weapon's gun pointed straight ahead at the closer of the two figures. However, before she can take the shot, another shot zips in from the right and shears through the scope, causing Ruby to stagger backwards in shock and surprise and leave her weapon jammed into the ground. Looking to the right, you see a third masked figure standing at the corner that you had just come around from less than a minute ago, a small trail of smoke leaking out of the end of his raised rifle.

Blake, closer to the newest assailant than anyone else, raises Gambol Shroud in its pistol state and fires a few shots at him, but he sidesteps each one with great speed and readies his rifle for another few shots. An opaque ice wall ten feet high shoots up out of the ground between him and Blake just as he lets three more rounds loose, the shots impacting ineffectively against the surprise cover and momentarily covering everyone from anymore potential potshots from him. Two more identical walls also appear to form a small protective barrier around your group, providing everyone a brief respite from the ambush- courtesy of Weiss' Semblance.

"Who are those people?" Yang shouts, the surprise from the ambush setting her adrenaline pumping through her body. She's not the only one shaken by this- everyone is breathing heavily from adrenaline and a tiny mix of anxiety and worry for the situation they stumbled into.

"Are they White Fang?" Ruby asks, freeing Crescent Rose from where it was still jammed into the ground.

"I don't think so," Blake answers, keeping Gambol Shroud aimed at the wall shielding you all from the third attacker. "They wear white Grimm masks, not those dark helmets."

"Well, whoever they are, they don't want us going in there," Weiss deadpans, gesturing with a tilt of her head towards where the Yevon drilled a hole into the warehouse.

As if on cue, a burst of white energy the size of your chest smashes through the second ice wall, shattering its midsection entirely as the bright projectile slams into you and barrels both you and the Yevon through the breach at a high speed, the sound of several wooden crates splintering to pieces following suit. Team RWBY's attention immediately snaps over to where the large projectile was launched from- the marksman that was on top of the containers is now standing next to the enemy that you kicked away, his arm raised in front of him and glowing with a similar light.

The girls immediately dash to cover behind where the other two sides of the ice wall still remain- Ruby and Blake on the left, Weiss and Yang on the right- narrowly avoiding multiple shots from the second attacker that dink the wall behind where each of them was previously standing a moment prior. Ruby looks at the hole where you had been catapulted into the warehouse, and gives Weiss a worried look.

"You were saying?" Weiss narrows her eyes in disdain at Ruby's comment.

"Seriously!?" Weiss exclaims before stepping back further behind cover as another white projectile flies through the break in the ice wall, impacting the ground of the warehouse's breach and immediately expanding outward in a crystal of solid light, cutting you off from the rest of the team.

"(Y/N), are you okay?" Ruby yells, hoping to hear something from you in response. Inside the warehouse, you're lying on top of a smashed wooden crate, slightly groaning as yellow stars fly about your head in a circle and your eyes turn into cartoonish dizzy spirals.

* * *

The marksman who initiated the attack against the Huntsmen-in-training directs his attention to the breacher who attacked from the students' flank, who's currently stacked up against the ice wall nearest to him, an Ailar grenade in his hand ready to be thrown over the wall into the middle of the walled-off area. Meanwhile, the marksman and the agent with the longsword, a Close-Quarters Fighter, quickly break into a sprint towards the wall the marksman had broken with a light projectile he threw with his Semblance, the marksman keeping his weapon aimed at the gap in the event one of the kids peeks her head out.

"Three, this is One- status report." A voice cuts in over the agents' comms on their dedicated radio channel. At the same time, the girl with the yellow hair and wrist-mounted shotguns leans her head into view to take a quick peek- the marksman delivers a quick burst of three SNAP rounds and quickly forces her back into cover before responding.

"This is Three- Intruders outside: Beacon students. We're addressing it now," the marksman replies, the sound of static indicates the channel closing a moment later.

"They're headed right for us… We gotta do something, fast!" All three could hear what she's saying thanks to the breacher being right outside the enemy's position, their voices echoing through the comms link built into their helmets.

"I almost feel a little guilty- we're about to kill a group of kids," the marksman deadpans as he and the CQF reach the ice wall and stack up on the right side of the gap out of sight of the breacher, his rifle ready to fire at a moment's notice. He's not worried about the students hearing him- their helmets are designed to prevent any noise from leaving the ceramic, while micro speakers mounted on the sides allow them to hear everything that's happening around them.

"Reginald's orders were clear, so don't." The breacher's voice echoes back through their comms in a stone-cold voice, to which the marksman chuckles briefly.

"Almost guilty," he clarifies, his face devoid of any emotion in his ceramic helmet.

The breacher doesn't make any more comments as he sets his Ailar to 'flash-bang', and the CQF stays silent, readying his longsword for attack as opposed to his rifle, which remains on his back untouched.

"Eight's set." The breacher's voice echoes through the comms, signaling he's ready to throw a flash-bang.

"Three's set," the marksman states, signaling he's ready to move through the gap in the ice when the flash goes off.

"Five's set." The CQF gives a similar sit-rep, his longsword gripped firmly in one hand.

"Ruby, what's the plan?"

"I-I don't know!" The voice of whom the marksman assumes to be Ruby comes through the micro speakers panicked and distressed.

"Throwing-" A loud _bang_ cuts the breacher's voice short and draws a shout of surprise and pain from him. "What the-" His voice is cut short yet again as the sound of ceramic fracturing silences his voice- moments later, the sound of a body and gear hitting asphalt reaches the other two agents' ears.

"What was that!?" The voice that had asked Ruby for a plan earlier rings as clearly through their speakers as the _bang_ from what the marksman assumes was the Ailar detonating prematurely in the breacher's hand.

However, that doesn't explain the noise that cut the breacher's shout of surprise short, but another conclusion does… _There's another enemy here._ Without saying a word, the marksman runs past the gap in the ice walls and readies his rifle for possible contact; the CQF peels away in the opposite direction, slinging his rifle into his hands and his longsword into its scabbard for the first time that night, aiming at the gap in the ice to ensure that the intruders can't reposition.

Rounding the corner, a quick glance to the marksman's right alerts him to the dead body of the breacher lying limp on the ground with his back slumped against the ice wall. The Ailar had blown off the body suit covering his left hand and caused severe blisters and burns on the hand itself, and there was a hole in the center of the ceramic helmet, presumably where a SNAP round had penetrated it and burrowed into the dead agent's head.

Another glance to the marksman's left reveals the figure of the additional enemy, half-hidden behind the right end of a long line of supply barrels, who fires another shot out of the weapon in his hand before the marksman can get a moment to identify him- the only thing the marksman can make out in time is the large revolver in the enemy's hand. The marksman back-steps out of the bullet's path and fires a loose spray of bullets in the newcomer's direction, forcing him to duck down behind the cover of the barrels.

After a brief moment, the new arrival begins sprinting behind the barrels to the marksman's left, firing off another potshot as he goes. The marksman anticipates the attack easily and sidesteps the bullet before firing off more rounds- this time, more accurately. Unfortunately, a dreaded _click_ can be heard after only two shots leave his rifle, and the marksman braces himself as the enemy stops dead in his tracks, having heard the sound of an empty magazine, and snaps his revolver around his side, aiming right at the head of the marksman.

 _Click._ The sound of a gun out of ammo again. The marksman immediately takes the opportunity to get a good look at his opponent while they both reload their guns- the gunslinger has short-trimmed black hair that is showing the tell-tale signs of age and brown eyes interlaced with years of combat experience. His outfit consists of a black leather jacket with golden trimmings, a white shirt with trimmings similar to the jacket, golden bracers adorning his lower arms, and pitch black pants complemented by white shoes with dark outlines.

Foregoing reloading his gun, the marksman channels his Semblance into his legs- the next moment, he fires white energy out of his feet, propelling himself upwards onto the slanted roof of the warehouse. Quickly turning around, he vaults over the apex of the roof onto the other slanted side to break eye contact with the bigger threat and provide an opportunity to use his helmet's comms.

"One, this is Three- do you copy?" the marksman pings over radio, using radio protocol for cross-channel communication. Meanwhile, he lifts his head up to peek over the top of the slanted roof and spots the gunslinger aiming his revolver at the roof, causing the marksman to instantly flinch back into cover as a shot sails past his face.

The gunslinger advances down the line of barrels a few more steps, putting him in sight of the CQF, who readjusts his aim to fire at the gunslinger. His trigger finger is a split-second too slow, however, as a snapshot from the gunslinger smashes through his helmet and flicks the CQF's body onto his back, dead. The gunslinger ducks back under cover as the marksman hits the rims of the barrels, his rifle fully reloaded.

"This is One- has the situation outside cleared?" a neutral tone responds over the built-in radio; by the sound of his voice, Reginald heard the commotion from inside the warehouse.

"Negative, One." The marksman allows a hint of worry to creep into his voice as he ducks back behind cover, noticing the CQF's dead body in the process. "Five and Eight are down, and I'm pinned. Intruders are no longer pinned down, and Warhammer has intervened- relationship unclear. Please advise." The marksman raises his head back over the roof and fires some stray shots at the gunslinger, forcing him to duck behind the barrels again.

"Understood. Regroup inside- we got the data from the vault. Highwind's two minutes out from extraction. One, out." The channel cuts out again- the marksman doesn't need to be told twice. Staying behind the cover of the slanted roof, he slings his rifle onto the mag lock on his back and grabs both Ailars from his vest. Setting the first to 'flash-bang' and the other to 'shockwave', he primes both TMPs simultaneously, then tosses the first one high into the air behind him and lightly throws the other over the edge of the roof to where the Huntresses-in-training are hiding.

A couple seconds pass before the marksman peeks his head over the ridge while moving to where the wall meets the roof. The gunslinger, not noticing the flashbang against the night sky, aims his weapon at the moving target, then shuts his eyes and hunches down behind the barrels as a loud and harsh-sounding _bang_ accented by a bright flash blinds him. At the same time, the air around where the students are hiding visibly ripples, a low-sounding _boom_ accompanying a powerful shockwave blowing apart every inch of the ice walls, shattering the light crystal blocking access into the warehouse, and sending the young Huntresses and their weapons flying in various directions.

Capitalizing on the opportunity, the marksman hops off the roof and down to where the students were recently hiding, the ice walls and light crystal both gone, and rushes in through the hole in the building into a small back room full of wooden crates, some smashed open. However, he runs to the other side of the room- failing to notice your unconscious form partly buried beneath the Yevon and several wooden planks from crates that you had been catapulted through previously- and flees through a door leading to another room within the warehouse.

* * *

 _Ugghhhh….. my head…._ Ruby's eyes slowly flit open as the pain coursing through her entire body begins to finally dull. The last thing she remembers is telling her team a plan of action before a loud boom explodes behind her, followed by about four minutes of nonstop pain and throbbing throughout her being.

Slowly raising her head off the ground, Ruby gazes across the ground and sees her friends scattered across the immediate vicinity, all groaning and on their knees in pain- there's no sign that those three masked enemies are still around. Carefully, she rises to her feet, ignoring the dull thudding in her head, and heads towards where the hole in the back of the warehouse rests while collecting Crimson Rose along the way, everyone else slowly moving to meet her there.

"Is everyone okay?" Ruby asks as soon as her team is gathered outside the breach, wincing occasionally as a thud of pain lightly resounds throughout her skull.

"My head's killing me," Blake groans, holding the side of her head in discomfort. Everyone else groans in unison, confirming that they're in the same circumstance as each other. After a moment of pained thought, Ruby looks at the breach in the warehouse, her pain starting to subside considerably.

"(Y/N), are you there?" she calls, hoping to receive an answer this time. Her prayer's answered immediately as her ears pick up the sound of wood shifting around, followed by the sound of something heavy crashing against the concrete foundation of the warehouse.

"I'm fine," you respond, much to the young reaper's immediate relief. A few moments later, you appear in the breach gripping Wind Reaper in one hand and the barrel of the Yevon in the other, its tripod folded into a neat triangle underneath the laser drill.

As you give the Yevon a light shake, unfolding the tripod back into a set position, and set it down on the ground, you observe the conditions of everyone around you. Much to your surprise, everyone is unharmed thanks to their auras still being intact. Pulling out your scroll while depositing Wind Reaper into its spot within your jacket, you decide to check on your aura count, to which Ruby does the same.

 _(Y/N): 79%_

 _Ruby: 73%_

 _Yang: 80%_

 _Blake: 81%_

 _Weiss: 76%_

 _I'm glad it's not worse,_ Ruby thinks, the numbers mitigating her earlier worries about her team being injured.

"What are you all doing here?" An unfamiliar, yet commanding voice makes itself known behind her, and everyone turns around to see the man they didn't know had helped them earlier, standing a few feet behind them with a look of disapproval beaming down on them, his gun holstered within his black jackets out-of-sight of the five students standing there. Sensing a slight level of hostility, your hand dips into the folds of your jacket and grasps onto Wind Reaper, though you don't pull it out immediately, instead opting to keep your own gaze trained onto the stranger's brown eyes.

"Students from the Academy aren't allowed in this area of the docks," he states, pressing you and your peers for an explanation, folding his arms to add a level of intimidation to his presence.

The members of team RWBY, on the other hand, cast unsure looks around each other for several moments before Ruby finally answers him.

"We were sitting in our room when we saw a weird light from the docks, and we wanted to check it out," Ruby answers modestly. _It's the truth…_ The gunslinger takes one more look around the group before setting his jawline and scrunching his lips in thought.

"Are you first-years?" Everyone nods slowly, to which the gunslinger grunts and uncrosses his arms. "Then I can't blame you for not knowing, but you should head back to Beacon- students aren't allowed in this area of the docks."

"Sir?" Blake hails the stranger, who acknowledges her with a questioning grunt and a glance in her direction. "Who were those people?"

The stranger's eyes narrow as they flit back and forth for a moment while he composes a response in his mind. "They were members of a gang in Vale- probably trying to steal whatever's inside this warehouse. There were more of them inside, but they left through the front entrance a minute or two ago."

Weiss casts a quick glance behind her at the Yevon before returning it back to the gunslinger, her gaze questioning. "How did they get their hands on that?" she asks while gesturing to the Yevon with a finger. "Those aren't exactly something anyone can just steal."

The man's response is swift and unsatisfactory to Weiss's curiosity. "Beats me, kid." He walks past your group and stands next to the Yevon, and after giving a quick inspection of the breach, sighs in irritation. "You five need to head back to Beacon before someone else finds you here… other officers aren't as forgiving as I am."

"But-" Ruby starts to protest, but a cold stare from the man stops her protest short. After a few moments of terse silence, you withdraw your hand from inside your jacket and begin to walk back in the direction you came from earlier.

"Come on- nothing more we can do here, and I'd prefer we get back before curfew kicks in," you state tersely, not turning around to see if the others are following you. Casting a final glance around each other before conceding, Team RWBY follows suit, catching up to you as everyone leaves the warehouse behind with more questions than answers.

Catching a bullhead at Vale's transportation docks, everyone waits anxiously to take off as they take a seat- you opt in for the seat in the direct middle of the transport, everyone else sitting on one side closer to the doors of the vehicle. Halfway through the flight back, Yang looks past Ruby and Weiss at you with a solemn expression.

"Hey (Y/N)."

"Mm?" Your gaze flits over in her direction, along with the rest of her team's, in curiosity, and you tilt your head slightly when you see her face.

"Look… I'm sorry about what I said in your-"

"Don't," you say calmly, cutting her apology short and returning your gaze to the slowly enlarging campus of Beacon.

"(Y/N), if you're still mad about-" Yang tries again, but you cut her off all the same.

"Listen, Yang." You briefly close your eyes, reflecting on your earlier heart-to-heart session with Ruby on the dormitory roof. "I _was_ upset at what you said, but let me make this clear: you should never feel sorry about protecting someone you care about…" You open your eyes and return Yang's serious expression with your own solemn gaze. "…especially when the other guy has no idea what it's like to feel that way."

As you say that, your mind flits back once again to your discussion with Ruby on the rooftop. _…_ I _want to help you…_ Your gaze subtly travels from Yang, whose gaze has returned to the approaching landing pad while contemplating your words, to Ruby, whose gaze is trained on her sister in concern and solemnity.

 _Does Ruby feel that way about me?_

* * *

Stepping forward towards a secret elevator hidden within the warehouse, the gunslinger looks down at the only two buttons on the control panel for the lift and presses the bottom one. The doors hiss shut, and the man feels slightly lighter for a split second as the elevator begins its descent, secretly anxious about what he might see when those doors slide open.

The elevator slows to a stop after only five seconds of descent, the doors hissing open to reveal a small room with four luminescent lightbulbs providing sight to the various wall-mounted computer screens lining the sides and the three men lying at each wall, two of them dead with pools of blood beneath their corpses. All of the computers displayed various information and blueprints for various technologies, all virtually undamaged.

The man steps out of the elevator with a purpose in his step and kneels next to the only unconscious man, lightly shaking his shoulder in an attempt to rouse him.

"Cerise, wake up." The man's eyes flutter open after a few seconds, staring up at the gunslinger with a confused and clouded expression.

"That you, Nightly?" Cerise groans, to which Nightly extends a hand to help him onto his feet. Grasping onto it, Cerise feels Nightly pull him to his feet. "Sorry mate- they got us before we could blink."

"What did the Fashadde take?" Nightly cuts straight to the point- the Fashadde have been trying to learn where one of his vaults are for years, and they just successfully raided one.

"One sec." Approaching the computer he was knocked out at, Cerise flicks his hand up in front of the computer, and after a few rapid selections on the computer's monitor, the two men are staring at the activity logs of the entire mainframe that is built into that room. After giving it a quick read, Cerise turns around to address Nightly, who wasn't even finished reading the first log.

"They took data regarding Projects Gideon, Tetragram, Odysseus, and Reich. What sticks out as weird to me-" Cerise highlights the second to last log on the screen. "-is this." The log details a database search for a specific keyword:

 **Reaper**

"The Reaper clan has gone silent for almost a century now," Cerise comments, turning back to Nightly. "So why are they interested in them now?"

Nightly narrows his eyes at the highlighted log, his mind working to figure out a potential explanation, but coming up with nothing after several moments of thought. "I don't know… but if their aggressions against Nightly Industries has taught us anything, it's that they don't do _anything_ without good reason." Nightly takes one last glance at the highlighted log before averting his eyes downward in thought. "Something's got them spooked… and I'm not sure I like it."


End file.
